BELMONTE, Bianca Lou F.

MRR 3
GED104 / A22 6/9/19
Reflection paper regarding “Revolution In Mind: The Creation Of Psychoanalysis by
George J. Makari”

At one part of the article, I didn’t understand when Makari disclosed that this
article will discuss the intellectual and social history of the creation of psychoanalysis.
And upon reading the piece, I realized that it discussed the theories and social events
that led to the creation of psychoanalysis. From this account, I learned a lot in reading
Makari’s work but for one I learned that Freud started a scientific revolution when he
attempted to study psychology or more specifically the subconscious with a scientific
approach. This attempt was revolutionary yet it wasn’t well accepted by the society
mainly because they believed that psychology was more of a theory than science as it
has no scientific basis and can never have empirical data since the subconscious and
mind doesn’t really show obvious observable phenomena to be even recorded. In short,
it was a rocky road for Freud however, with his persistence and multiple synthesized
theories that cover the physical, behavioral and mental manifestations of the
subconscious, he managed to form a scientific stand regarding the subconscious which
is part of the definition of psychoanalysis. Moving on, I also learned the importance of
understanding the social and scientific context of certain discoveries because it leaves
room for the idea that no matter what discovery we know today, it can always be broken
by new truth through new scientific breakthroughs. This article reminds us that we
shouldn’t close ourselves to the idea that the truth we know now will always be correct
however, we should also be smart in accepting the facts science offers us. In addition to
knowing contexts, I realized that the context of scientific breakthroughs influences the
rationale of their attempt. For Freud, his stand in psychoanalysis became stronger
during world war. In the early part of his work he wanted to explain common hysteria in
the facet of sexology. By the time world war happened, he wanted to understand the
subconscious of a soldier that is obviously suffering from PTSD using his signature
basis and the understanding of transference. The context however shouldn’t limit us on
how we apply their discovery because it is merely one example of its uses.
BELMONTE, Bianca Lou F. MRR 3
GED104 / A22 6/9/19
Though I learned a lot from this article I also have concepts I didn’t understand.
For example, I do not comprehend why there was a need to discuss the social groups
formed with regards to scientists and their theories. In this article Makari describes the
boundaries needed to be inside groups. I just don’t grasp the role these groups play in
the creation of certain theories. Are they important because they are the means of how
theories go around and be solidified? Do more followers really mean anything if the
society still doubts? I also didn’t recognize what degeneration in French
psychopatahology meant. In addition to that I didn’t really understand
biophysics/psychophysics enough to know what it contributed to psychoanalysis
because I wasn’t able to make out the main principle it goes for.

At the introduction I was hooked by what Makari said regarding the limits of
psychoanalysis. After reading I wanted to know more about the ways of psychoanalysis
and at what point is it too much since it is meant to be intrusive about trauma. I also
wanted to explore the theories and models used to form psychoanalysis individually so I
can understand psychoanalysis with more depth. Overall, I want to answer my queries
from the previous paragraph and understand the topics I listed here.