ABSTRACT
The implications of the proposals for psychoanalytic theory include the replacement of both drive and object-relations theories as central organizing constructs by that of the self-organization. The hypotheses articulated are congruent with recent critiques of Freud’s metapsychology, which reject the materialist and positivist bias of the natural science of the 19th century. In recent years, bridging efforts have been attempted by a number of interdisciplinary scholars. Levin and Hadley have carried these studies to a point where brain science and the clinical theories of psychoanalysis actually converge. Metapsychological propositions must be evaluated in terms of their congruence with the conclusions of other disciplines, as well as their relevance, coherence, economy, and beauty.
