Общата теория на системите: ще замени ли тя метапсихологията?

A trend in the development of the theory of psychoanalysis towards replacing methapsychological concepts with concepts drawn from information theory and general systems theory is outlined. Some predecessors of these developments within psychoanalysis — like ego psychology (Hartmann, Spitz, Erikson, Maler), object relatations theory (Fairbairn) and the attachment theory of Bowlby — are reviewed in this context Daniel Stern's theory of the early development of the sense of self is used to exemplify the possibility to view the self as the organizing principle of the psyche. The implications of these developments for the psychoanalytic psychopathology and therapy are referred to. The author argues that introducing systemic concepts to the theory of psychoanalysis does not necessarily involve the abandonment of the intrapsychic focus and of concepts that are still useful for the clinical theory.