Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Clay C Whitehead.
The story of Perseus and his exploits is one of the most famous Greek myths and is analyzed with emphasis on oedipal and symbiotic dynamics. The myth is seen to resonate with individual, social, and historical elements, illustrating the unique place of symbol and myth in mediating the coevolution of the individual and his or her culture.
Much of Freud's theoretical work rests on his metapsychological assumption that split the mind from the brain. In recent decades, this assumption has increasingly constrained the progress of psychodynamic science. During those same decades rapid progress in the traditional sciences, particularly neuroscience, evolution, and brain imaging, has set the stage for major advances in our understanding of the mind, and the brain. Leaders in both traditional and psychodynamic science have identified the reintegration of the mind-brain split, and its related problems of consciousness and knowledge, as a focus of 21st century discovery. Following Freud's revolutionary discovery of the unconscious and psychoanalysis, the period after World War II saw a second, post-Freudian psychoanalytic revolution. Psychopharmacology and the therapeutic use of empathy became widespread. Much of classical theory became increasingly obsolescent. We are thus entering the early stages of a third psychoanalytic revolution seeking a reintegration of mind and body that was not possible in Freud's time. The implications for theory, vocabulary, and technique present exciting and daunting challenges. Bowlby, who early rejected metapsychology, was a brilliant leader in these efforts. More recently, neuroanatomy and MRI studies of separation and empathy, reviewed here, have supported many of the most important clinical hypotheses of modern psychoanalysis. This progress illuminates a royal road to reuniting traditional and psychoanalytic science through solution of the problem of knowledge.
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Freud's metapsychological assumption, which split the mind from the brain, is increasingly recognized as limiting the growth of psychoanalysis and its integration with other fields, including psychiatry. The dual-aspect monist position, sometimes used to rationalize the mind/body split, is seen to contain a mereological (category) error, which can be avoided by the introduction of the paradigm of psychodynamic science, and by the use of a nondualistic, symbiotic mind/brain formulation, well justified by the study of cultural and organic evolution. Therapeutic action may now be seen as a special case of development that occurs within the interactional context of cultural evolution, personal history, and the genome. Human evolution is increasingly dominated by culture operating on the mind/brain through downward causation. This concept refers to the influence of higher organizational entities (e.g., mind) upon lower ones (e.g., brain). Although little recognized, downward causation is tacitly assumed in psychotherapeutic interventions, and is illustrated in recent fMRI studies. The clinical integration of the downward causation concept links therapeutic action to the power of cultural evolution, and facilitates reunion with traditional science.
The dynamics of the Asclepian myth are analyzed, and generic dynamics of the healing imperative are illustrated. The story teaches much about the early theories and practice of ancient medicine, and originated the healing symbol of the staff and serpent which appears on the emblem of the American Academy. The multi-modal therapeutic approach used at the Asclepia was often climaxed by dream incubation as a centerpiece of the treatment. Dreams from modern physicians in analysis will be introduced to show that while our practice has changed in external trappings, the underlying dynamics of ancient and modern healers reflect a common humanity. Modern therapists have reacquired the use of dreams and invented a new set of explanatory myths. Consideration of future developments leads to linking the "psychosomatic model" of antiquity with the psychopharmacological interventions which are now common-place in psychodynamic psychotherapy. The Asclepian emphasis on spirituality is also finding increasing recognition among psychoanalysts and other scientists.