Discussion of Brenner: Reflections on Psychoanalysis—A Cautious and Cautionary Response

I am sure that Dr. Brenner would not take offense at my immediate reaction to his essay as its being seductive, both in clarity and coherence. As usual, in listening to or reading Dr. Brenner, I need to fight off being swept along by the sheer ease of logic and argument which he offers. The accompanying chorus of “Of course, how could it be otherwise?” is only stilled after I can put the paper or book aside or let some time pass after he has spoken. After a brief internal battle, I start my rebuttal, but I never seem to fight entirely clear of the siren calling me to total agreement. This latest example was a little easier for me. I began to see just why and when I had become such a pushover. And, indeed it has directly to do with seduction, and my courage to not succumb to it.

Dr. Brenner begins by warning us all of our rights: to disagree, to evaluate ideas on their merits, to not use Freud's name to cloud discussion, to stick to science. This last is elaborated with a variation of Popper's conjectures and refutations along with a fine plea to embrace the scientific method in a sort of pragmatic way (i.e., theories should be fruitful and useful). Once aboard, I started to feel good but then uneasy as Brenner took on an old and fruitless battle about just what science is, what sort of a science psychoanalysis is, and so on. I must here pause to assert that I wish to invoke Brenner