The concept of phantasy in psychoanalysis: An examination of the place of reality in the Freud-Klein controversies.

Title: The concept of phantasy in psychoanalysis: An examination of the place of reality in the Freud-Klein controversies.
Identifier: AAI9820587
identifier: 9820587
Creator: Vorus, E. Neal.
Contributor: Adviser: Steven J. Ellman
Date: 1998
Language: English
Publisher: City University of New York.
Subject: Psychology, Clinical
Abstract: In 1943-44, the British Psychoanalytic Society held the 'Controversial Discussions' in an attempt to address theoretical, clinical, and political disagreements between analysts aligned with Melanie Klein and those who supported the views of Anna Freud. This thesis examines the centrality of the concept of unconscious phantasy in these proceedings, highlighting the different epistemological assumptions implicit in contributions on this topic by the respective groups. Toward understanding these differences, a view of the evolution of the concept of phantasy in the writings of both Freud and Klein is offered, and the interrelation of their changing theories of phantasy with shifting epistemological stances (objectivist v. constructivist) is examined. In conclusion, the unique role of the Freud-Klein Controversies in containing and expressing an emerging incompatibility of old and new intellectual trends in Western philosophical and scientific thought is proposed.
Type: dissertation
Source: PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
degree: Ph.D.

Media: The concept of phantasy in psychoanalysis: An examination of the place of reality in the Freud-Klein controversies.