Issues between psychoanalysis and science: considerations about validation

Author(s)

Paulo Antonio de Campos Beer

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Psicologia (IP/SBD)
• Defense date: 2015-12-16

Examining board members

Nelson da Silva Junior; Christian Ingo Lenz Dunker; Mario Eduardo Costa Pereira

• Advisor: Nelson da Silva Junior

Abstract

This dissertation has as goal to establish an articulation between psychoanalysis and science that takes into consideration the state of the art of the debate. Departing from the acknowledgment of some frequently present misconceptions of the way this debate is developed, initially an analysis of the way the psychoanalyst Jacques Lacan treats the issue is done, indicating how one should avert two common mistakes: the idea that Science rejects the subject and the blurring of what is science and what is the discourse of science. These misconceptions seem to be consequences of either the lack of an accurate reading of the lacanian text or an outdated conception of Science.. After that, some advances on the philosophical field - as well as critics to the psychoanalytical thought originated from there - are analysed with the support of authors like Kuhn, Feyerabend, Granger e Grünbaum. The issue of extra-clinical validation as a common point for attacks is acknowledged as well as the importance of validation in the possibility of circulation of the knowledge that is produced beyond its origin place. Taking that into account, some experimental studies on validation are analysed with the perspective that an articulation between psychoanalysis and experimental sciences is possible without any harm to the clinic or the ethics of psychoanalysis. This kind of articulation is extremely important for a more effective political participation of psychoanalysis, and for contributing in an interesting way for the epistemological debate (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 12/25222-3 - Issues and tensions between psychoanalysis and philosophy
• Grantee: Paulo Antonio de Campos Beer
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master