Psychoanalysis, Science and Power

This collection makes a powerful case for putting Bob Young at the heart of the intellectual maelstrom which led to the creation of Science and Technology Studies, a programme of engaged scholarship from whose history he has too often been excluded. - David Edgerton, Hans Rausing Professor of History of Science, Kings College London, UK This is a rich collection of essays that cover the extraordinary range of Bob Young's intellectual and political engagements. The contributions introduce Young's psychopolitical concerns and simultaneously extend his thinking thereby illustrating the continuing relevance of his theoretical endeavours. This book is highly recommended, as reading it will provide rich rewards. - Amal Treacher Kabesh, University of Nottingham, UK Whenever I reminisce about Robert Young, an image of Leonardo da Vinci pops into my mind. An esteemed clinician, historian, scholar, publisher, editor, author, and critic, Bob Young - more than anyone else in the psychoanalytical community - deserves to be recognised as a true 'Renaissance Man'. Thankfully, Kurt Jacobsen and Robert Hinshelwood have curated a masterpiece of riveting tributes to this remarkable gentleman who challenged the 'elitism' of psychoanalysis and who dared to speak out bravely and boldly with wisdom and fortitude. Professor Young will be much missed but, happily, due to this magnificent book, he will always be remembered. - Professor Brett Kahr, Senior Fellow, Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology, London; Honorary Director of Research, Freud Museum London, UK This multi-voiced volume is a fine tribute to a remarkable man. Robert Young's unorthodox, ever-questing brilliance sparked young historians of science in the 70s and went on to inspire new ways of thinking with psychoanalysis and about science and technology for the rest of his long and engaged life. In probing Young's work, these elegant, disputatious essays by leaders across a variety of fields themselves illuminate a spectrum of ideas key to the formation of our times. - Lisa Appignanesi, OBE, FRSL; author, Freud's Women (with John Forrester), Mad, Bad and Sad and Everyday Madness Anyone remotely interested in in the fields of Science and Technology Studies and/or psychoanalysis - especially if they are interested in changing as well as understanding the world - will be inspired by this collection of essays honouring the polymathic scholar and activist Bob Young. Over a fifty-year career Young challenged his students, colleagues and comrades to rethink the foundations of their beliefs and practices through his seminal writings and interventions, initially as an historian and social analyst of science, and later as a psychotherapist and teacher of psychoanalytic theory. By assessing Young's career and intellectual legacy, the distinguished contributors to this volume are offering a new generation of scholars and activists some powerful tools to demystify their disciplines and sustain their struggles to make a better world. - Dr Gary Werskey, University of Sydney, Australia This collection makes a powerful case for putting Bob Young at the heart of the intellectual maelstrom which led to the creation of Science and Technology Studies, a programme of engaged scholarship from whose history he has too often been excluded. - David Edgerton, Hans Rausing Professor of History of Science, Kings College London, UK This is a rich collection of essays that cover the extraordinary range of Bob Young's intellectual and political engagements. The contributions introduce Young's psychopolitical concerns and simultaneously extend his thinking, thereby illustrating the continuing relevance of his theoretical endeavours. This book is highly recommended, as reading it will provide rich rewards. - Amal Treacher Kabesh, University of Nottingham, UK Whenever I reminisce about Robert Young, an image of Leonardo da Vinci pops into my mind. An esteemed clinician, historian, scholar, publisher, editor, author and critic, Bob Young - more than anyone else in the psychoanalytical community - deserves to be recognised as a true 'Renaissance Man'. Thankfully, Kurt Jacobsen and R. D. Hinshelwood have curated a masterpiece of riveting tributes to this remarkable gentleman who challenged the 'elitism' of psychoanalysis and who dared to speak out bravely and boldly with wisdom and fortitude. Professor Young will be much missed but, happily, due to this magnificent book, he will always be remembered. - Professor Brett Kahr, Senior Fellow, Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology, London; Honorary Director of Research, Freud Museum London, UK This multi-voiced volume is a fine tribute to a remarkable man. Robert Young's unorthodox, ever-questing brilliance sparked young historians of science in the 70s and went on to inspire new ways of thinking with psychoanalysis and about science and technology for the rest of his long and engaged life. In probing Young's work, these elegant, disputatious essays by leaders across a variety of fields themselves illuminate a spectrum of ideas key to the formation of our times. - Lisa Appignanesi, OBE, FRSL; author, Freud's Women (with John Forrester), Mad, Bad and Sad and Everyday Madness Anyone remotely interested in in the fields of Science and Technology Studies and/or psychoanalysis - especially if they are interested in changing as well as understanding the world - will be inspired by this collection of essays honouring the polymathic scholar and activist Bob Young. Over a fifty-year career Young challenged his students, colleagues and comrades to rethink the foundations of their beliefs and practices through his seminal writings and interventions, initially as an historian and social analyst of science, and later as a psychotherapist and teacher of psychoanalytic theory. By assessing Young's career and intellectual legacy, the distinguished contributors to this volume are offering a new generation of scholars and activists some powerful tools to demystify their disciplines and sustain their struggles to make a better world. - Dr Gary Werskey, University of Sydney, Australia