ABSTRACT
Sigmund Freud was a scientist whose research was in the field of neuroanatomy for twenty years before he developed psychoanalysis. He was a modernist, a biological determinist who resisted cultural explanations for human behaviour. His work on psychoanalysis was motivated by the tradition of determinism. Biological determinism was very much in vogue in Freud's time: thus he saw humans and their behaviour as a result of their biology. Whilst scientists endeavour to usurp their predecessors by disproving their theories the psychoanalyst holds fast to Freud and his work and is cautious not to disprove Freud or offend his memory. Although Freud's claim about his new science has been the cause of immense controversy both during his life and since his death, scholars have noted that the notion of science for Freud working in Europe did not hold the same ideals of empiricism as in the United Kingdom.
