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The founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud, had the wisdom to learn from a wide range of sources. A piece of literary fiction, an autobiography, a witticism, and an old play, all could stir up his thinking. Even “mute” stimuli such as a sculpture, a visit to a historical monument, and a walk in the garden could lead him to wonder about mysteries of human mind as evidenced in the emotional reactions such triggers created in him. He learnt from myths, numerology, and jokes as much as he did from the yield of his clinical encounters. To be sure, Freud was a great teacher, but what is often overlooked is that he was a great student as well.
It is sad to admit but the fact is that later psychoanalysts lost this breadth of learning. They read narrowly and somehow got increasingly restricted to only the texts of their discipline. An occasional paper on poetry and Shakespearean plays notwithstanding, the corpus of work these psychoanalysts produced was dismally devoid of wide-ranging sources of information.
Fortunately, this trend is showing signs of reversal. The mid-1990s shift from “psychoanalytic anthropology” to the current “anthropological psychoanalysis” (Akhtar, 2013, 2018) reflects such re-awakening of enthusiasm for truly interdisciplinary learning. The three book reviews contained in this issue attest to this rejuvenation. Ira Brenner reviews Andrea Sabbadini's book on movies, Andrea Corn discusses Paul Marcus’ book on sports, and Jane Brandt writes about Desy safan-Gerarrd's book on art. Together, their critiques open up new vistas of learning for all of us. This is “Back to Freud” in a really meaningful sense!
Salman Akhtar
Professor of Psychiatry, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Correspondence
Salman Akhtar, 833 Chestnut East, Suite 210-C, Philadelphia, PA 19107.
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