Arthur Lovejoy was the first to systematically investigate the history of ideas. The way people think about life evolves and develops. In hindsight, earlier ways of looking at things are seen for the kernel of an idea they contributed. At the same time, insight ripens over time, reveals limitations in earlier perspectives.
(In the picture to your right is one of Pavlov’s dogs. Looks smart, eh?)
Frankl begins his first book, The Doctor and the Soul by examining the history of ideas in the field of psychology.
What is the historical importance of Freud and Adler? Where, despite their important contributions, were each of these thinkers limited in their view of what it means to be human, necessitating a need for further developments in the field?
Psychoanalysis aims to retrieve material that has been repressed in the subconscious and bring it into conscious awareness. Individual psychology aims to help a person accept responsibility for his neurotic symptoms, thus strengthening the ego.
In this frame of what it means to be human, psychoanalysis latches on to consciousness to the exclusion of responsibility while individual psychology latches on to responsibility to the exclusion of consciousness.
The limitation of both is that the integration of consciousness and responsibility together make up human wholeness.
Through consciousness we are aware of how we are different from others and who we are in relationship to them. Through responsibility we are aware of who we are now and who we can be in the future. Both concepts together make up what it means to be different and to become different.
Frank’s analysis leaves a lot of questions. We will bear Frankl’s analysis of psychology in mind as we continue to read.
We will also bear in mind that Frankl himself recognized and invited us to take his own ideas to further ripening development. Throughout this commentary on the book, we will keep an open mind and examine the ideas using our own insights. (The Doctor and the Soul, pp. 3-5)