Michael J. Lambert

Eysenck on Freud: An Objective Scientific Analysis?

Originally published in Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 1992, Vol 37(8), 786-787. Reviews the book, Decline and Fall of the Freudian Empire by H. J. Eysenck (1990). Eysenck attacks Freudian theory in numerous areas–dream interpretation, slips of the tongue, psychohistory, childhood sexuality, the analysis of cultures, the effectiveness of psychoanalytic psychotherapy, and the like. Typically, he draws on a variety of writers, all of whom have been critical of Freud, summarizing their analyses and conclusions and adding anecdotes of his own. The referencing style of the text is very informal and clearly written with the educated layperson in mind. Most of the topics covered in the book have been dealt with in numerous other works by a variety of authors. It is paradoxical that Eysenck proposes to base his assessment of Freudian theory not on the character of the man but on scientific evidence related to Freudian theory, yet, following the Introduction, he provides an extensive attack on Freuds character and suggests that psychoanalysis is a reflection of that character and of Freuds neuroses. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)