title: Reconciliation: the continuing role of theory.
abstract: The author regards this lecture-event as a symbol of the rapprochements currently in process, brought about by the need to close ranks due to a period of theoretical fragmentation and decline. Just as the original breakthrough of psychoanalysis a century ago was its theory of understanding, the fate of that theory is paramount in the process of consolidation and reconciliation during the present recovery phase. Splits are caused by ideas and people. Theory has grown by steady accretion, and by a parallel subjective process frequently based on flaws and fallacies. Comings together, often in the service of survival, can be on a base as flawed as the original separations, and miss the opportunities to correct previous irrational developments in theory. The author advocates a total composite psychoanalytic theory as the common ground to unify the field and restore its previous inspirational quality.
authors.affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles, and University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rangell
mesh_terms: D000047:Academies and Institutes / Q000266:history / Q000639:trends; D003379:Countertransference; D005619:Freudian Theory / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D009769:Object Attachment; D011572:Psychoanalysis / Q000266:history* / Q000639:trends; D011573:Psychoanalytic Interpretation; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D014167:Transference, Psychology; D014473:Unconscious, Psychology; D014481:United States