On 8 February Michael Sylvester wrote: >Dream analysis emanted from Ancient Egypt not from Freud
Of course, dream analysis in the West did not start with Freud anyway. I�m moved to make this mundane statement because I recall the press release in 1999 by Dr Leon Hoffman, Chair of the Committee on Public Information of the American Psychoanalytic Association, to commemorate the publication of *The Interpretation of Dreams*. Dr Hoffman stated: �Without the *Interpretation of Dreams* neuroscience might exist only as a mapping project. Psychology might still be the study of ill humors and their effects on the brain. Without *The Interpretation of Dreams* modern, scientific study might not be finding the insights into the mind that are saving millions from the horrors of mental illness.� Now this is an official statement from the American Psychoanalytic Association saying that were it not for Freud, �psychology might still be the study of ill humors and their effects on the brain.� For sheer fatuousness, that takes some beating. Here he is again, in an article on the Discovery Channel Canada website: "[Freud] was the first person to demonstrate that dreams came from within you, it was not some spirit coming from the outside. But, dreams were created by the person himself," says psychoanalyst Dr. Leon Hoffman of the American Psychoanalytic Association. This is historical nonsense. As the historian of psychology Henri Ellenberger has shown, dream theories involving the dreamer�s experiences and personality were proposed throughout the nineteenth century. Historian of psychoanalysis Rosemarie Sand has show that Charcot, Janet, and Krafft-Ebing proposed ideas integral to Freud�s theories before Freud. It seems that few people are as ignorant of the history of psychoanalysis and its precursors as psychoanalysts. But they�re not the only ones. Here is Dr Hoffman reporting the success of his campaign to the members of the American Psychoanalytic Association (courtesy of Morton Schatzman, who emailed it to me at the time): RE: MEDIA BLITZ on Interpretation of Dreams This message was posted to members list by Leon Hoffman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> We have been in the midst of a MEDIA BLITZ on the Interpretation of Dreams as a result of the hard work of Dottie Jeffries relating to the 100th Anniversary of the first publication on November 4, 1899. THIS MEDIA CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN BY FAR THE MOST SUCCESSFUL IN TERMS OF RESPONSES BY THE PRESS AND STUDENTS. WE ARE STRESSING THE NEUROSCIENCE FINDINGS WHICH CORROLATE WITH PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY!!!!! As a result of the press releases the number of inquiries have been truly astounding -- from professors of psychology, students of psychology, and press -- from the NY Times, Newsweek, Dallas Morning News, and others, including the now in-the-news science writer John Horgan. With hope we will get a significant number of stories published. Dottie has stressed to me that we have to remember the significance of dreams to the general public. We have to utilize our expertise [sic � A.E.] and communicate the ideas in an intelligible way to the public. LEON HOFFMAN And, sure enough, the press meekly recycled the APSA propaganda, mostly without question. --Allen Articles cited above: http://www.apsa.org/pubinfo/dreamsrelease.htm http://www.exn.ca/Stories/1999/11/02/54.asp Allen Esterson Former lecturer, Science Department Southwark College, London [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.human-nature.com/esterson/index.html http://www.butterfliesandwheels.com/articleprint.php?num=10 --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [EMAIL PROTECTED] To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
