SexViolHist Bib: Research: Disciplines: Medicine: Sigmund Freud

»Sigmund Freud (/frɔɪd/ FROYD, German: [ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfrɔʏt]; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies seen as originating from conflicts in the psyche, through dialogue between patient and psychoanalyst, and the distinctive theory of mind and human agency derived from it.« -- More information: Wikipedia

Seduction Theory

I n f o r m a t i o n

»Freud's seduction theory (German: Verführungstheorie) was a hypothesis posited in the mid-1890s by Sigmund Freud that he believed provided the solution to the problem of the origins of hysteria and obsessional neurosis. According to the theory, a repressed memory of child sexual abuse in early childhood or a molestation experience was the essential precondition for hysterical or obsessional symptoms, with the addition of an active sexual experience up to the age of eight for the latter.« -- More information: Wikipedia

1. Studien über Hysterie (Studies on Hysteria)

I n f o r m a t i o n

»Studies on Hysteria (German: Studien über Hysterie) is an 1895 book by Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, and the physician Josef Breuer. It consists of a joint introductory paper (reprinted from 1893); followed by five individual studies of hysterics – Breuer's famous case of Anna O. (real name: Bertha Pappenheim), seminal for the development of psychoanalysis, and four more by Freud— including his evaluation of Emmy von N— and finishing with a theoretical essay by Breuer and a more practice-oriented one on therapy by Freud.« -- More information: Wikipedia

K e y w o r d s

I. Chronological Index: Modern History: 19^th Century | II. Geographical Index: European History: Austrian History | III. Topical Index: Cases: Real Victims: Aurelie Kronich; Types: General: Incestual Rape, Sexual Assault; Offenders: Kinship: Fathers, Uncles; Victims: Kinship: Daughters, Nieces

B i b l i o g r a p h y

I. Author Index

[Info] Göppel, Rolf. »Über das Verhältnis von Erzählung, Deutung und Theoriekonstruktion am Beispiel von Freuds Fallgeschichte „Katharina“.« Widerstreitendes Erzählen: Ambivalenzen im Kontext (inklusions-)pädagogischer Ansprüche. Edited by Jens Geldner-Belli et al. Wiesbaden 2024: 89-108.

II. Speaker Index

2. Masson Controversy

I n f o r m a t i o n

»The Assault on Truth: Freud's Suppression of the Seduction Theory is a book by the former psychoanalyst Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, in which the author argues that Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, deliberately suppressed his early hypothesis, known as the seduction theory, that hysteria is caused by sexual abuse during infancy, because he refused to believe that children are the victims of sexual violence and abuse within their own families. Masson reached this conclusion while he had access to several of Freud's unpublished letters as projects director of the Sigmund Freud Archives. The Assault on Truth was first published in 1984 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux; several revised editions have since been published.
The book aroused massive publicity and controversy. It received many negative reviews, several of which rejected Masson's reading of psychoanalytic history. It was condemned by reviewers within the psychoanalytic profession, and came to be seen as the latest in a series of attacks on psychoanalysis and an expression of a widespread "anti-Freudian mood." The book has received criticism from both supporters and critics of psychoanalysis. Its overall reception has been described as mixed. Some feminists endorsed Masson's conclusions, and other commentators have seen merit in his book. Masson has been criticized for supposedly 'misrepresenting' the seduction theory and maintaining that it was correct. He has also been criticized for his discussion of Freud's treatment of his patient Emma Eckstein, for suggesting that children are by nature innocent and asexual, and for taking part in a reaction against the sexual revolution.« -- More information: Wikipedia

K e y w o r d s

I. Chronological Index: Modern History: 19^th Century, 20^th Century | II. Geographical Index: American History U.S. History; European History: General | III. Topical Index: Types: Victims: Child Sexual Abuse, Incestual Rape

2.1. The Assault on Truth

I. Author Index

[Info] Masson, Jeffrey M. Angrebet på sandheden. Hvorfor svigtede Freud sin forførelsesteori. Copenhagen 1984.

[Info] Masson, Jeffrey M. Assalto alla verita. La rinuncia di Freud alla teoria della seduzione. Milan 1984.

[Info] Masson Jeffrey M. The assault on truth. Freud’s suppression of the seduction theory. London 1984.

[Info] Masson, Jeffrey M. Sveket mot sanningen. Hur Freud kom att överge sin förförelseteori. Stockholm 1984.

[Info] Masson, Jeffrey M. Was hat man dir, du armes Kind, getan? Oder: was Freud nicht wahrhaben wollte. Reinbek 1984.

2.2. Reviews and Critics

I. Author Index

[Info] Ahbel-Rappe, Karin. »"I no Longer Believe": Did Freud Abandon the Seduction Theory?« Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association 54 (2006): 171-199.

[Info] Ambroise-Rendu, Anne-Claude. »Die Ärzte und der sexuelle Missbrauch von Kindern: Aspekte einer Kulturgeschichte der Medizin des 19. und 20. Jahrhunderts.« Österreichische Zeitschrift für Geschichtswissenschaften 28 (2017): 157-182.

[Info] Blass, Rachel B., et al. »The value of the historical perspective to contemporary psychoanalysis: Freud’s ‘seduction hypothesis’.« International Journal of Psychoanalysis 75 (1994): 677-694.

[Info] Bloch, D. »Freud retraction of his seduction theory and the Schreber case.« Psychoanalytic review 76 (1989): 185-201.

[Info] Borch-Jacobsen, Mikkel. »Neurotica. Freud and the seduction theory.« October 76 (1996): 15-43.

[Info] Brown, Paul, et al. »Memories of Sexual Abuse: Janet's Critique of Freud, A Balanced Approach.« Psychological Reports 82 (1998): 1027-1043.

[Info] Collings, Steven J. »See No Evil, Hear No Evil: The Rise and Fall of Child Sexual Abuse in the 20^th Century.« Psychology in Society No. 38 (2009): 61-73.

[Info] Eissler, Kurt R. »Comments on erroneous interpretations of Freud seduction theory.« Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association 41 (1993): 571-583.

[Info] Eissler, Kurt R. Freud and the seduction theory. A brief love affair. Madison 2001.

[Info] Esterson, Allen. »Jeffrey Masson and Freud’s seduction theory. A new fable based on old myths.« History of the human sciences 11 (1998): 1-21.

[Info] Esterson, Allen. »The mythologizing of psychoanalytic history. Deception and self-deception in Freud’s accounts of the seduction theory episode.« History of psychiatry 12 (2001): 329-352.

[Info] Esterson, Allen. »The myth of Freud’s ostracism by the medical community in 1896-1905. Jeffrey Masson’s Assault on Truth.« History of psychology 5 (2002): 115-134.

[Info] Forrester, John. »Rape, Seduction and Psychoanalysis.« Rape: An Historical and Social Enquiry. Edited by Sylvana Tomaselli et al. Oxford 1986: 57-83.

[Info] Frampton, Michael F. »Considerations on the role of Brentano’s concept of intentionality in Freud’s repudiation of the seduction theory.« International review of psycho-analysis 18 (1991): 27-36.

[Info] Garcia, Emanuel E. »Freud’s seduction theory.« Psychoanalytic study of the child 42 (1987): 443-468.

[Info] Gleaves, David H., et al. »Recent reformulations of Freud’s development and abandonment of his seduction theory. Historical/scientific clarification or a continued assault on truth?« History of psychology 2 (1999): 324-354.

[Info] Good, Michael I. »Karl Abraham, Sigmund Freud, and the fate of the seduction theory.« Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association 43 (1995): 1137-1167.

[Info] Holland, Norman N. »Massonic wrongs.« American imago 46 (1989): 329-352.

[Info] Hult, Jose. »The re-emergence of memory recovery. Return of seduction theory and birth of survivorship.« History of the human sciences 18 (2005): 127-142.

[Info] Israëls, Han, et al. »The seduction theory.« History of Psychiatry 4 (1993): 23-59.

[Info] Izenberg, Gerald N. »Seduced and abandoned: The rise and fall of Freud's seduction theory.« The Cambridge Companion to Freud. Edited by Jerome Neu. Cambridge 1991: 25-43.

[Info] Krüll, Marianne. Freud und sein Vater. Die Entstehung der Psychoanalyse und Freuds ungelöste Vaterbindung. Munich 1979.

[Info] Krüll, Marianne. Padre e figlio. Vita familiare di Freud. Turin 1982.

[Info] Krüll, Marianne. Sigmund, fils de Jacob. Un lien non dénoué. Paris 1983.

[Info] Krüll, Marianne. Freud and his father. New York 1986.

[Info] Krüll, Marianne. ?. Tokyo 1987.

[Info] Kupfersmid, Joel. »The "defense" of Sigmund Freud.« Psychotherapy 29 (1992): 297-309.

[Info] Lothane, Zvi. »Freud’s alleged repudiation of the seduction theory revisited. Facts and fallacies.« Psychoanalytic review 88 (2001): 673-723.

[Info] Makari, George J. »The seductions of history. Sexual trauma in Freud’s theory and historiography.« International journal of psychoanalysis 79 (1998): 857-869.

[Info] Masters, Ardyce. »Freud, seduction and his father.« Journal of psychohistory 15 (1988): 501-509.

[Info] McCullough, Maurice L. »Freud’s seduction theory and its rehabilitation. A saga of one mistake after another.« Review of general psychology 5 (2001): 3-22.

[Info] McOmber, James B. »Silencing the patient. Freud, sexual abuse, and "The Etiology of Hysteria".« Quarterly journal of speech 82 (1996): 343-363.

[Info] Murphy, Sara. »Freud, Sigmund/Freudian theory.« Encyclopedia of rape. Edited by Merril D. Smith. Westport 2004: 82-83.

[Info] Newton, Marcia A. »"Secret Guilt by Silence Is Betrayed": Navigating Contradictory Narratives of Sexual Trauma and Symptom Formation in Freudian Theory and the Early Work of Karl Abraham.« The Journal of Psychohistory 47 (2019): 48-67.

[Info] Paul, Robert A. »Freud and the seduction theory. A critical examination of Masson’s The Assault on Truth.« Journal of psychoanalytic anthropology 8 (1985): 161-187.

[Info] Powell, Russell A., et al. »Did Freud mislead patients to confabulate memories of abuse?« Psychological reports 74 (1994): 1283-1298.

[Info] Powell, Russell A., et al. »Did Freud misinterpret reported memories of sexual abuse as fantasies?« Psychological reports 77 (1995): 563-570.

[Info] Powell, Russell A., et al. »Did Freud mislead patients to confabulate memories of abuse? A reply to Gleaves and Hernandez (1999).« Psychological reports 95 (2004): 863-877.

[Info] Rosenman, Stanley. »Guardians, ferrets and defilers of the treasure. The Masson-Freudians controversy.« Journal of psychohistory 16 (1989): 297-321.

[Info] Schimek, Jean O. »Fact and fantasy in the seduction theory. A historical review.« Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association 35 (1987): 937-965.

[Info] Schusdek, Alexander. »Freud’s "seduction theory". A reconstruction.« Journal of the history of behavioral sciences 2 (1966): 159-166.

[Info] Triplett, Hall. »The Misnomer of Freud's "Seduction Theory".« Journal of the History of Ideas 65 (2004): 647-665.

[Info] Wasserman, Saul, et al. »An Overview of the History of Child Sexual Abuse and Sigmund Freud's Contributions.« The Sexual Abuse of Children: Theory and Research. Vol. I. Edited by William O'Donohue et al. Hillsdale 1992: 49-72.

[Info] Westerlund, Elaine. »Freud on sexual trauma. An historical review of seduction and betrayal.« Psychology of women quarterly 10 (1996): 297-309.

II. Speaker Index