Grammar of the Unconscious

Charles R. Elder is a William Rainey Harper Fellow and teaches in the social science collegiate division of the University of Chicago.

“This book makes an important contribution to understanding the nature and status of psychoanalytic theory by showing how a Wittgenstein-inspired clarification of Freud’s original work dissolves commonplace misunderstandings about the unconscious mind. Its detailed analysis of various aspects of the metapsychology represents an important contribution to deconstruction of empiricist claims on behalf of psychoanalysis. Elder’s apt adaptation of Wittgenstein’s grammatical method to psychoanalysis addresses questions at the core of the debate between hermeneuticists like Ricoeur and Habermas on the one hand and philosophers of science like Grunbaum and Edelson on the other. Elder argues convincingly that the value of psychoanalytic theory lies primarily in its innovative conceptual framework, set of terms, images, and models for the description of human experience. Whether or not one accepts Elder’s conclusions, one must be grateful for his careful and thorough treatment of the subject.”—Ernest Wallwork, Syracuse University