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There is a charming and profound observation recorded in a book, Charlotte's Web, by the American humorist, E. B. White, which reads as follows: 'It is deeply satisfying to win a prize in front of a lot of people.' I wish to offer a prize to Dr Ramzy in front of the 'lot of people' gathered here today. My prize is in the form of a compliment: I think Dr Ramzy has written a scholarly, interesting and useful paper (this issue), well worth reading and well worth discussing.
It is clear to me that I agree with him in most of his conclusions: his support of the scientific method, his interest in research and his description of the use of logic in analysis. Whether or not I agree with him in all areas depends on our definitions, as I will now try to detail.
At one point, Dr Ramzy notes that 'psycho-analysis as a method can be defined as a science which deals with the errors of the human mind'. At another point he states that 'psycho-analysis as a clinical method of investigation strictly adheres to the common logical canons …'. Perhaps we view these matters similarly, but I wish to give examples which imply to me that analysis deals not alone with 'errors of the human mind' but also with activities of the human mind which are not errors and the comprehension of which obliges the analyst to use methods 'outside logical canons'. I refer here to the use of empathy, intuition and, as a general category, regression in the service of the ego. My examples come from data-collecting activities by the analyst, but I will refer also to data evaluation by the analyst.
It is especially in the area of data collecting, I believe, that the analyst departs from the model of the logician or the computer. I agree that analysts employ methods of logic such as contiguity, similarity, contrast and also repetition, omissions, analogies, intensities, etc. But if we add to his role as logician, the opportunities made possible by regression in the service of the ego, I believe we get a be