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During the first year of the Istanbul Group, the aim has been to introduce the field of neuropsychoanalysis to specialists within various disciplines in Istanbul, in order to build a common ground for those willing to integrate their theoretical and research findings for the enhancement of neuropsychoanalysis. Therefore, regardless of the differences in terminologies used in neuroscience and psychoanalysis, the exploration of conceptual overlappings and agreements among these disciplines will be the core philosophy of our group.
The group considers neuropsychoanalysis to be a scientific method able to resolve the splitting in science that dates back to the famous “mind-body” problem. During the previous century, the scientific split between the study of the brain on the one hand, and the study of the psyche on the other, enabled scientists to enlarge the data bank, making crucial findings in both neurology and psychology. However, mutual idealization and devaluation, respectively, prevented the specialists from accepting the validity of the findings from the discipline to which they did not themselves belong. This kind of a narcissistic denial led to (so to speak) “Part Sciences.” During our new century, a synthesis of these split data is required in order to reach a phase of “Whole Science” in the study of mind and body. Therefore, our group conceptualizes neuropsychoanalysis as a method to reduce scientific splitting and to improve scientific maturation in our field.
According to our approach, participants from several disciplines—psychology, psychiatry, neurology, psychoanalysis, philosophy, physics and sociology—have been invited to the group. Three study groups are being initiated, in order to elaborate three different themes:
Mind-body studies.
As an introduction to the core philosophy of neuropsycho-analysis, the group will focus on the study of the “mind—body” problem. Ancient and modern writings from both Western and Eastern “philosophy of mind” will first be