title: Reasons for the Freudian revolution.
abstract: Freud's revolution may be viewed as the discovery of a way of locating in the mind objective entities which can be studied like physical things. If Freud's is representative of scientific revolutions, perhaps what Thomas Kuhn has described as a change of paradigm might generally consist of the demonstration of new entities. This particular revolution occurred in the setting of a prevalent concern about the entities underlying all of the sciences. Because of his genius for structural thought, Freud was able to respond satisfactorily to a challenge that all the sciences were facing. It is that common challenge rather than a popular exemplary model, such as mechanics or hydraulics, that shaped Freud's theory.
mesh_terms: D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D005544:Forecasting; D005619:Freudian Theory; D049672:History, 19th Century; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D008606:Mental Processes; D010686:Philosophy, Medical; D011572:Psychoanalysis / Q000266:history; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D012586:Science