ABSTRACT
By way of example, let me raise a question about a core value of Western philosophical, ethical and religious traditions: are we to remain creatures who consider our humanity partially to consist in the journey – often slow, sometimes painful – of self-conscious self-discovery? Are we to continue to be creatures who constitute ourselves via the celebration, the mourning and memorialization of the suffering we have already gone through? There are powerful cultural currents that run counter to this value – and we need to admit that, on occasion, the psychoanalytic profession contributes to them. Although Freud speaks in a wonderful polyphony, in his more medical moments, he too is implicated. If all we need is a cure for a discrete medical condition – say, lifting depression or calming anxiety – then perhaps a pill can do that better, and do so more cost-effectively than psychoanalysis. If we have a discrete behavioral problem – drinking too much, difficulty writing papers for a deadline – perhaps there are effective behavioral modifications available.
