In a letter of May 14, 1922, Sigmund Freud noted the profound similarities between himself and Viennese playwright, Arthur Schnitzler. Their kinship, according to Freud, rested upon shared determinism and skepticism: "what people call pessimism." Both men were graduates of the University of Vienna medical faculty, where they were exposed to two significant non-medical controversies. By examining and interpreting late works of Freud and Schnitzler, in the context of the issues debated earlier at the Medical School, this study assesses the validity of Freud's conclusion. Chapter One provides an intellectual history of the Second Viennese Medical School and the concepts discussed just prior to the matriculation of Freud and Schnitzler: Therapeutic skepticism and the materialist world-view. The first of these positions, which cast doubt on the ability of medicine to help, is correlated with Freud's suggestion of a shared determinism with Schnitzler. The second, due to its religious implications, is linked to Freud's contention of a shared skepticism. These two issues are employed in interpreting the later, parapsychological, works of Freud, as well as Beyond the Pleasure Principle, The Ego and the Id, and The Question of Lay-Analysis. The thesis is put forth that Freud was more a determinist than a skeptic, especially as he became convinced of the validity of his discovery. Chapter Three explores themes in Schnitzler's works along the same lines used in the discussion of Freud. Extensive use is made of early and late unpublished diaries of the author, as well as works roughly contemporaneous with those of Freud. Analysis leads to an assessment of Schnitzler different in emphasis from that of Freud. A conclusion offers a brief discussion of the two authors' notes concerning war, for these epitomized their philosophical differences. The thesis is advanced that the world-views of these men were shaped by their varying proximity to the medical school, its faculty, and the practice of medicine itself. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 47-12, Section: A, page: 4489. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1986.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75998 |
| Creators | Luprecht, Mark |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 281 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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