The Discovery of the Unconscious

Ellenberger presents a history of dynamic psychiatry, providing discussions of figures such as the doctor Franz Anton Mesmer, Sigmund Freud (the founder of psychoanalysis), the psychologist Pierre Janet, the psychotherapist Alfred Adler, and the psychiatrist Carl Jung. He discusses "the personality of the pioneers, their environment, and the role of certain patients."[1]

The Discovery of the Unconscious was first published by Basic Books in 1970.[2]

The Discovery of the Unconscious is the book for which Ellenberger is best remembered.[3] The psychologist Frank Sulloway described the book as an "impressively erudite if also much-disputed" work. He credited Ellenberger with doing "more than any other student of Freud's life" to question false claims about Freud's achievements.[4] The psychoanalyst Joel Kovel described the book as "useful because of its encyclopaedic nature", but nevertheless concluded that it has "little critical value or real historical analysis."[5]

The psychologist Hans Eysenck called The Discovery of the Unconscious a "classic" and an "excellent book which unveils many of the myths which have accumulated around Freud".[6] The critic Frederick Crews considered the book part of a body of research demonstrating that Freud "was misled by his drive toward heroic fame." Crews wrote that the Ellenberger reveals "the derivative and curiously atavistic position of psychoanalysis in nineteenth century psychiatry", adding that "No one who ponders the entirety of Ellenberger's subtly ironic narrative can fail to come away with a sense that psychoanalysis was a high-handed improvisation on Freud's part."[7] Crews also credited Ellenberger with a biographical understanding of Freud that "set a standard that contemporary scholars are still trying to match",[8] and with revising older estimates of Freud's level of originality and encouraging subsequent scholars to question the scientific validity of psychoanalysis.[9]

The historian Peter Gay described The Discovery of the Unconscious as useful despite Ellenberger's lack of sympathy for Freud.[10] Gay called the book a "thoroughly researched" volume that was far more comprehensive than Lancelot Law Whyte's The Unconscious before Freud (1960). Gay added that, "Though far from elegant, though opinionated and not always reliable in its quick judgments (such as its verdict that Freud was the quintessential Viennese), it is a rich source of information."[11]

The psychiatrist Anthony Stevens made use of Ellenberger's concept of "creative illness", a rare condition whose onset usually occurs after a long period of intense intellectual work, in his account of Jung.[12] The historian Paul Robinson wrote that The Discovery of the Unconscious paved the way for much of the criticism of Freud that followed in the 1980s.[13] The historian of science Roger Smith called the book "a magisterial - and readable - historical study".[14] The psychologist Louis Breger considered the book "extremely valuable". He credited Ellenberger with placing Freud's work in context, as well as with providing illuminating discussions of Adler, Jung, and Janet.[15] The philosopher Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen and the psychologist Sonu Shamdasani called the book a "monumental work".[16]

• Decline and Fall of the Freudian Empire

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