ABSTRACT
This chapter hypothesizes that the multitude of different research traditions could push ahead the psychoanalytic research fleet on this globalized ocean and clamour for a change of direction wherever necessary and wherever rationally justified. Such unavoidable corrections of mainstream positions and political decisions within the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) research culture may be based on scientific discourses, including the critical reflections of different research traditions and diverse epistemological backgrounds. The chapter sketches some of these discourses and reflections, illustrating some of the roots of the current pluralism of science. It defines clinical, conceptual, and empirical research in psychoanalysis while at the same time introducing the different contributions of this volume. The chapter presents the report that was added on the International Conference held in Frankfurt in September 2002—"Pluralism of Sciences and the Psychoanalytic Method between Clinical, Conceptual and Empirical Research"—which was organized by the new Research Subcommittee.
