Customer Reviews

Freudian Fraud: The Malignant Effect of Freud's Theory on American Thought and Culture

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

If I had to live over again I should devote myself to psychical research rather than psychoanalysis. -Sigmund Freud

_Freudian Fraud: The Malignant Effect of Freud's Theory on American Thought and Culture_ by psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey traces the role of Freudian theory (particularly that concerning the role of sex in childhood development) in American culture and thought. Freud postulated that the behavior of children was sexual in nature and maintained a highly dogmatic position about such notions as the Oedipus complex throughout his life. This book examines the harmful role of Freudian theory in American culture. Torrey argues that Freudian theory is not only unscientific but has been harmful leading to a culture of narcissism and irresponsibility.

Torrey begins by discussing Freud's practice as a psychoanalyst. Freud was very influenced by occult ideas, including numerology as well as the idea of his fellow physician Wilhelm Fliess that the nose is linked to human sexuality. This led Freud to operate on the nose of many patients, leading often to permanent disfiguration. In addition, Freud advocated the use of cocaine as a panacea for all physical and mental ills and took the drug heavily himself. Freud's system also was very denigrating towards women viewing the mother as the source of all mental problems and personal unhappiness. Nevertheless, because Freud openly discussed sex as the source of mental problems he became a favorite among those who advocated sexual liberation during the Victorian era. Prime among these figures was the anarchist Emma Goldman who became enthralled by Freudianism and advocated for birth control and sexual freedom. In America, Freud's ideas became linked to leftist political thought after the emigration to this country of anthropologist Franz Boas. Torrey contrasts nature and nurture showing how at the beginning of the Twentieth century rightists were associated with the nature side of the spectrum, often advocating eugenics and biological determinism as well as racialism. In contrast, leftists were associated with the nurture side of the spectrum, often appealing directly to Freud to show that social problems were rooted in child rearing methods. Cultural relativists like Franz Boas came to advocate leftist politics while appealing to both Freud and Marx against rightists such as the racialist Madison Grant. Ruth Benedict and Margaret Mead, two of the students of Boas, became very famous with their anthropological work supposedly showing that in more "liberated" cultures adolescence was less stressful. Nevertheless, as Torrey shows the work of Mead in particular was heavily biased by faulty methods, she came to see in the cultures she examined exactly what she expected to see because her methods of questioning influenced her informers. Mead was a bisexual and this may have led to her adoption of Freudian theory. With the rise and fall of Adolf Hitler, the nature/nurture question became settled, making it in bad taste to argue that behaviors could be genetically determined. Torrey next devotes a chapter to the influence of Freud among various political radicals and social elites, particularly among a group of leftists in New York City who openly advocated for Trotsky. Torrey also shows how Freudian ideas became influential in both the nursery and the prison system. In the nursery, the ideas of Benjamin Spock, based on Freudian concepts, came to prevail for an entire generation. It should be remembered that before Spock mankind had been successfully raising children since time immemorial. Nevertheless, Spock would come to take a prime place among a generation of individuals. In the prison system, Freudian ideas were used often to argue that criminals were products of a dysfunctional childhood. This frequently allowed criminals such as Leopold and Loeb to be given lighter sentences and led to an abuse of the insanity defense. Indeed, the notion of personal responsibility became untenable in the light of Freudian theory. Torrey next turns his attention to the intellectual elite, including individuals like Marcuse, Goodman, and Brown who often advocated a combined Freudianism and Marxism as part of the New Left. It should be noted that although Freudianism was frequently linked to radical politics in America, that Freud himself was an elitist. Freud looked down upon lower members of society and his services were pretty much uniformly offered to only the wealthy class. Indeed, Freud refused to treat the severely mentally ill. Torrey suggests that Freudianism has led to a massive misallocation of resources, in which the most severely ill are never treated or treated with Freudian nonsense, while those who have only life complaints are given full Freudian analyses. Nevertheless, Freud must be credited for his promotion of the idea of the unconscious. Torrey also notes the similiarity of Freudian analysis to a religion, emphasizing its Jewish influence, something that cannot be overstated. Torrey concludes with two appendices in which he discusses the influence of Freud on intellectuals (...)

After reading this book, I became more convinced than ever that Freudian ideas have been highly harmful to the psychic well-being of many Americans. In addition, the linkage between Freudian ideas and elitist leftist politics has proven disastrous for this country and for man's freedom.

Following in the capable footsteps of Frederick Crews ("Skeptical Engagements"), Richard Webster ("Why Freud Was Wrong"), Adolph Grunbaum ("The Foundations of Psychoanalysis"), Frank Cioffi, Frank Sulloway, Elizabeth Thornton and many others - Fuller Torrey chips away at Freud's waning reputation and subjects the "heroic" Freud of myth and legend to another bath of critical acid. It seems more and more plain that Freud was not a bona fide scientist and that his real genius was for self-promotion. As Nobelist, Peter Medawar, has said, psychoanalysis is a "dinosaur or zeppelin in the history of ideas, a vast structure of radically unsound design and with no posterity." In time, Freudism seems fated to go the way of phrenology.

This magnificent work takes a look into the ways in which the works of Freud have affected the way American society has come to view itself over the past century. It deals with the shift in thought in sociology and anthropology and how that has affected American culture and the world as a whole. Good for anyone who hates political correctness

The Freudian Fraud is the book a lot of psychologists, family therapists, marriage counselors, and others don't want you to read. Freud's theories about dream analysis, repression, and others are debunked. And with the debunking of these theories, so are the pseudo-therapies that rely on it. Does talking help? Yup. Do you need an expert who is trained in Freudian Theory? Nope. In fact, it could be dangerous to your health. Instead Dr. Torrey shows how the modern brain scanning techniques, neurobiology investigations, and scientific research is creating much more effective treatments than couch therapy. Everyone should read this book and other books by Dr. Torrey (who is head of Stanley Medical REsearch Institute and on board of the Treatment Advocacy Center.

That Freud knew next to nothing about severe mental illness and gave absurd analyses of schizophrenics and other severely disturbed people, and that he even preferred to treat clients who were in no need of psychoalysis or psychiatric treatment (it's easy to "cure" someone who isn't ill) have now been established to my satisfaction, thanks to the writings of the author of this book. Thank you once again, Dr. Fuller.

This book advances science over theory. Torrey debunks the ideas of American freudism which has slanders parenting for nearly 100 years now. It is intellectually sound and historically correct, a rarity in literature dealing with Father Freud.

While there are, it now seems, ample reasons to critique, and even dismiss, many of Dr. Freud's theories in their failure to account for the now popular biological/genetic explanations of mental illness, Fuller Torrey's book is not, primarily a scholarly exploration of these issues. Instead, this often vitriolic text takes aim at American society's proported shift towards a liberal agenda which includes feminism, sexual freedom, criminal reform and the rampant narcissism of our mindless consumer culture. If Fuller Torrey is right, all of these shifts are the result of, or at least have been abetted by, Freud's influence on American society, a society unmoored and hopelessly in search of a culprit to blame.

But if Freud can be said to have missed the DNA-boat on schizophrenia et al, Fuller Torrey has certainly overstated the historical and cultural power of Freud's influence. For one thing almost every instance of Freud's "malignant effect" cited by the author pre-dates Freud and has it's roots instead in the gradual, plodding, grinding destructiveness of unbridled "free market" entrepreneurial capitalism. The inevitable decline of "traditional" Western, and particularly American, culture has its roots precisely in that same Western tradition, not, as Fuller Torrey asserts, on the analyst's couch. Freudian analysis is no more, nor less, than a product of the same tradition.

An intersting, though I suspect unwitting, coda to the narrative of filial hatred that is this book, is that Fuller Torrey represents in his resistance to Freudian theory the next step in the same process that produced so many of the movements and ideologies he wants to decry. The reductio ad biologicum of all of human experience and the resulting "geneticization" of humanity are one step further in the direction of commodification and dehumanization which the market requires in its own seamless logic of production and consumption.


Speaking of which: I do not recommend consuming this product.

This is not the first attempt to discredit Freud by one whose only real claim to fame is the attack itelf. The bigger the one you attack, the more powerful you seem -- why not attack Elvis while you're at it? Certainly this will not be the last attempt. Before buying this book, perhaps the reader should look into previous attacks on Freud and how those misguided attempts failed to survive careful scrutiny over the years. For the various reasons highlighted by some other reviewers, this one fails miserably, and certainly won't stand any test of time.

Torrey does nothing but damage to common sense. His views are biased, and he misuses science to support his own ideas. And honestly, although semi-accurate at moments regarding Freudian thought, his overall interpretation of Freud's ideas seems to be highly misguided.

I am not quite familiar with American politics and culture, but I am with Freudian theory. And to be honest, I don't see the relevance of Torrey's fuzz. Frank Sulloway et al. have given abundant evidence of the fact that the influence of biology on psychoanalysis has been underestimated grossly, even during Freud's lifetime. In fact, in his Three Essays on the theory of Sexuality, Freud claims that "Education will not be trespassing beyond its appropriate domain if it limits itself to following the lines which have already been laid down organically and to impressing them somewhat more clearly and deeply" (Freud 1905, 178). If I am right (though I did not read any of Torrey's other writings), such statement could have been pronounced by Torrey as well.
The scientific value of Freudian theory is something quite different. Since Freud has been influenced thoroughly by contemporary biology, in particular Lamarckism and recapitulationism, it is no wonder psychoanalytic theory has never been able to develop into a 'real' scientific theory. But again, this does NOT imply psychoanalysis is a worthless theory.
I think Torrey is wrong, and he should have known better. It is a shame such books are still written, after Sulloway's 'Biologist of the Mind' (Sulloway 1979, 1992²).
As far as I know (and this was what I actually expected when I bumped into Torrey's book), there has not been written one book on Freud's real frauds. For example, Freud's studies about Dostojewski, Leonardo Da Vinci and Moses are based on crooked readings of written sources. Freud lied about the outcome of his therapies (of the Wolf Man, to mention just one),... There has been written a book on such topics in Dutch ('De Weense Kwakzalver' - which could be translated as 'The Viennese Quack', written by Han Israëls). These are Freud's real frauds.