Ellenberger on Freud's Aphasia: Fact and Method in the History of Science

An investigation is made into H. F. Ellenberger's historical view of S. Freud (THE DISCOVERY OF THE UNCONSCIOUS: THE HISTORY AND EVOLUTION OF DYNAMIC PSYCHIATRY, New York, NY: Basic Books, 1970, 2nd printing) with respect to aphasia in the light of other relevant bibliographical references on this topic. The discussion centers on Freud's personal achievement in this area of research vis-a-vis pertinent writings by contemporaries in his profession. The major issue is the controversy over who is to be credited with the initial progress &/or theories in the study of aphasia. Ellenberger, to provide a background for Freud's book, linked Freud's development with the study of aphasia, forgetting that H. Jackson is usually given credit for starting dynamic aphasia in 1864 & that Jackson's influence on Freud was well known. Historical truth was felt wanting in Ellenberger's book as evidenced by the fact that Jackson's influence on Freud was totally omitted in the text as well as in the section "Freud's Sources." M. Scholz.