Phenomenology and Psychoanalysis

We Analysts and Psychiatrists have good reason to devote time and energy to phenomenology. It has been observed by many that in times of crisis and stress men have sought solutions outside the realm of their immediate interest. Thus, healers of the soul have looked to theologians and philosophers for the answers, while philosophers have included the experience and insights of psychologists in their body of knowledge.

The ageless controversy over the priority of philosophy or psychology when it comes to the meaning of human endeavor, or the contest between the philosopher as a spectator of all times and the psychologist as one who examines motivations and goals of research, can be settled in no other way than by acknowledging the importance of both fields.

Phenomenology and philosophical anthropology offer significant contributions to psychoanalysis. Phenomenology is a doctrine of essences. The clamor to “return to the things themselves,” as Husserl put it, means a return to the immediacy of experience and its source in the real self. What it amounts to is the application of understanding, rather than interpretative psychology—Verstehende, nicht erklärende Psychologie.

Authentic investigation in our case calls for an acquaintance with the history of the phenomenological movement, plus knowledge of neurophysiology, clinical experience in psychopathology, and last but not least, experience in psychoanalysis.

Dr. Erwin Straus is one of the few persons who embodies a rare combination of knowledge and experience in the aforementioned disciplines. “Familiarity,” he stated, “prevents one from seeing things seen.” In his honor I should like to illustrate the phenomenological contribution to psychiatry and psychoanalysis, basing my views mainly on Dr. Straus’ work, specifically his thesis of spatiality.

As members of the Horney group, we have always been mindful of the cultural influences upon the development of an individual, paying special attention to the background and environ