Frederick Crews, "Freud: The Making of an Illusion" (Picador, 2018)

Dec 31, 2024

Frederick Crews, Emeritus professor of English at UC Berkeley, passionately critiques Sigmund Freud's legacy, arguing that Freud was a manipulative figure whose theories veer towards pseudoscience. He shares insights from Freud's letters to Martha Bernays, painting a complex portrait of a man driven by greed and ambition. The discussion delves into the clash between Freudian psychoanalysis and contemporary neuroscience, questioning the empirical validity of Freud's ideas while exploring the evolution of literary criticism influenced by his theories. Crews compellingly challenges established norms in mental health treatment.

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Intro

00:00 • 2min

Unveiling Freud: Myths and Realities

02:08 • 16min

Journey Through Freudian Theory in Literary Criticism

17:53 • 2min

Reevaluating Freud: A Journey Through Psychoanalysis

20:13 • 14min

The Intersection of Psychoanalysis and Neuroscience: A Critical Examination

34:07 • 3min

Critiquing Freudian Psychoanalysis

36:49 • 15min

Humor and Skepticism in Literary Critique

51:34 • 2min

Challenging Mental Health Norms

53:52 • 5min

The figure of Sigmund Freud has captivated the Western imagination like few others. One hundred and twenty-five years after the publication of Studies on Hysteria, the good doctor from Vienna continues to stir controversy in institutions, academic circles, and nuclear households across the world.

Perhaps Freud’s sharpest and most adamant critic, Frederick Crews has been debating Freud’s legacy for over thirty years. His latest work, Freud: The Making of an Illusion (Picador, 2018) challenges us with an extensive psychological profile of the legend here revealed as scam artist. What some analysts might argue to be a 750 page character assassination, Crews maintains is simply a recitation of facts which leaves readers to draw their own conclusions. One might wonder if the story of facts that is conveyed is not itself a counter myth.

Was Freud a megalomaniacal, greedy, cocaine-addled opportunist and psychoanalysis a pseudoscience that has reigned tyrannically over twentieth century thought? Making use of Freud’s extensive letters to Martha Bernays, Crews paints a “damning portrait” (Esquire) of a money hungry, adulterous, and uncaring man.

How can this portrait be reconciled with the radically meaningful and deeply transformative process many of us know psychoanalysis to be? Is the tyranny of rationality preferable to the tyranny of myth? Does the unmaking of the myth of the man undo the gift of his work?

In this interview Crews responds to questions of what it means to have an empirical attitude, how we should “test” the process of healing, what’s so tempting about Freud, and what should become of psychoanalysis today. Meticulously researched, the Crews of the Freud wars is back again, and he’s going in for the kill shot.

Cassandra B. Seltman is a writer, psychoanalyst, and researcher in NYC. cassandraseltman@gmail.com

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