The Meaning of the Dream in Psychoanalysis, by Rachel B. Blass,  State University of New York Press, 2000,  234 pp.

This is a philosophic epistemological inquiry into Freud's psychoanalytic theory regarding the meaning of dreams. This should have been suggested in a subtitle. This reviewer claims little philosophic expertise and thus finds herself in foreign territory. Being a foreigner affects my review. My outsider status, this is not being conversant with the rules of the game, may conceivably add a perspective, or, on the other hand, may fail to comprehend meanings.

The author is a psychoanalyst, but writes as a philosopher who is thoroughly at ease with analytic epistemological inquiry. She clearly states her objective and precisely formulates her questions, her mode of proceeding, her findings, and conclusions. In this approach, the precision of the logic and the consistency of argumentation is highly valued. Blass does not question whether dreams have meaning. She is investigating the justifications given for the assertion that we can know a meaning of a dream. More specifically, she is analyzing whether Freud's own justifications of the various propositions entailed in his theory about dreams have a reasonable validity. The author is not a basher of Freud or of psychoanalysis. To the contrary, she writes: “I will take as a basic premise that psychoanalytic theory as a whole is valid and justified” (p. 2). Blass is well aware that she may encounter a readership woefully unprepared for this rigorous exercise and begs for some attentive cooperation. The clarity of her explanations makes it relatively easy to follow her step by step.

We are first treated to her elucidation of the three concepts basic to her exploration: the concepts of meaning, justification, and truth. I was intrigued by this lesson in appreciation of the many aspects of meaning. We need to consider the meaning within the subject and the meaning within the observer. The meaning of a statement differs from the meaning of the stating. The meaning of a statement can be described, created, or discovered. Freud def