Abstract

The Grammar of the Unconscious is both an inquiry into certain long-standing conceptual problems and the exemplification of Wittgenstein's grammatical method. The problems are for the most part those that surround the question of the status of psychoanalysis as a theory of symbolism, psychosexual development, and culture. Using the method of grammatical analysis, Elder clarifies the distinctive features and conditions of the language of psychoanalysis--conceptual, logical, and grammatical--thus showing both the validity and the limits of its truth.