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In spite of its tremendous impact on mankind, paradoxically enough, it has not yet been possible to place and classify psychoanalysis within any of the existing fields of knowledge.
It is usually agreed that the cultural development of our century has been deeply influenced by three outstanding thinkers: Einstein, Marx and Freud. The transcendence of their discoveries and of the revolution they have brought about in their respective areas is widely acknowledged. Einstein's theories resulted in a substantial change in modern space physics. Besides being a philosopher, Marx was the founder of scientific socialism, in which the interpretation of dialectic materialism is applied to the historical and economic processes of mankind. But whereas Einstein's contribution can be easily classified within the field of physics and mathematics, and that of Marx within a social, political and economic ideology, doubts still arise as to the position to be assigned to the body of theories, hypotheses and methods discovered and developed by Freud.
Among those authors who have dealt with this problem, some have concentrated their efforts on the scientific validation of the psychoanalytical theory (Brosin, 1955). Others have sought to include it within the domain of philosophy (Hook, 1959). Still others have held that it should be regarded as a new psychodynamic or mental science (Guntrip, 1967). There were also some who objected to considering psychoanalysis as a science (Home, 1966).
We may wonder whether it is worth trying to assign psychoanalysis to a place within any given scientific or humanistic discipline.
Personally, I do not think it is. Psychoanalysis is a unique phenomenon, resulting from a revolutionary discovery by a genius, and its very nature meant a drastic departure from existing frameworks. It became the most important instrument of investigation elaborated by the human mind to disclose the secrets of the human mind.
Freud himself never gave a precise definitio