Comments on Richard Webster's book: Why Freud Was Wrong: Sin, Science and Psychoanalysis
In October 1997, a conference on the future of psychiatry took place in Oslo, arranged by Einar Kringlen, a senior professor of psychiatry. University of Oslo. Richard Webster, the author of “Why Freud Was Wrong: Sin, Science and Psychoanalysis” was one of the two main speakers. One of Webster's central theses is that psychoanalysis is mostly a dogmatic, religious belief system, and not a scientifically founded enterprise. A panel was invited to comment on Webster's presentation. Siri Erika Gullestad, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Oslo, and psychoanalyst, was one of the panelists. In the following, her discussion of Webster's book is presented.