On 7 Nov 2002, Esther Yoder Strahan wrote: > > Yesterday I received my November 11, 2002 _Newsweek_. In it there is an > article (p. 50 in the American edition) entitled _What Freud Got Right_<snip> > > http://www.msnbc.com/news/829644.asp > > Anyway, I am having difficulty seeing any confirmation of Freud's theories > in the data mentioned. I see some confirmation of the role of drives, which > I don't believe are really in question. A sample of the type of "logic" > presented in the article: in a discussion of how the ventral tegmental area > is involved in "seeking," the article states "To neuropsychologist Mark > Solms of University College in London, that sounds very much like libido." > > Maybe I'm missing something, but it seems to me that it could equally well > "confirm" anyone else's work who ever focused on basic drives <snip>
I'm with Esther on this one. It's just one more big ho-hum claim to find significance in Freud where there is none. A big problem with Freud (no, make that _the_ problem with Freud) is that his work is so vague and open to so many different interpretations that it's entirely untestable. Any bit of research, no matter what it says, can be interpreted post hoc to show that "Freud was right". By always being right no matter what, Freud is always wrong: his theory isn't science, but pseudo-science. I thought the reference to Mark Solms' work particularly revealing. Guterl, the author of the piece, seems unaware that REM sleep and dreaming are no longer considered synonymous. Moreover, it was Mark Solms who produced a critical piece of evidence leading to that revision. True, pontine lesions (what the article refers to as ventral tegmental) can eliminate REM sleep. But Solms reported four cases of individuals with large pontine lesions who continued to dream (in Solms, 2000). He's also reported that _forebrain_ lesions stop dreaming while REM sleep continues. So Solms concludes that the forebrain controls dreaming while the brainstem controls REM sleep. Now consider the proof offered that Freud was right. "When Solms looked into it, though, it turned out that the key structure involved in dreaming was actually the ventral tegmental, the same structure that Panksepp had identified as the seat of the "seeking" emotion. Dreams, it seemed, originated with the libido--which is just what Freud had believed". But Solms' work shows that the key structure involved in dreaming is the forebrain, not the ventral tegmental. Oops! But I'm sure there's some easy way to bring it back into correspondence with just what Freud had believed. Because Freud is always right. Stephen Solms, M. (2000). Dreaming and REM sleep are controlled by different brain mechanisms. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 23, 793-1121. _____________________________________________________________ Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. tel: (819) 822-9600 ext 2470 Department of Psychology fax: (819) 822-9661 Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Lennoxville, QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Dept web page at http://www.ubishops.ca/ccc/div/soc/psy TIPS discussion list for psychology teachers at http://www.frostburg.edu/dept/psyc/southerly/tips _________________________________________________________ --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
