Il fondamento epistemologico della psicoanalisi freudiana nei casi clinici del 1895

Faced with Sigmund Freud’s entire production, historical memory firstlysuggests one should pay attention to the contents of the "Interpretation of Dreams" (1899)and "Beyond the Pleasure Principle" (1920). The text of these two works denotes the epistemologicalevolution of the research activity carried out by the father of psychoanalysis, up tohis mature work. The keywords “hysteria,” “hypnosis” and “cathartic method” allow usto identify the final adoption of the maieutic method, exposed in the writings of Freud’smaturity and those of his last years. In this sense, in addition to "Negation" (1925), the othertexts to be referred to are "Analysis Terminable and Interminable" and "Constructions in Analysis"(both 1937), with which psychoanalysis as such also acquired its theoretical connotation.Nonetheless, without detracting anything from Freud’s best-known works, for a fullycomprehensive re-reading of the epistemological foundations of his psychoanalysis, it isadvisable to re-read the clinical cases, with particular reference to those published in 1895,in collaboration with Josef Breuer. The titles of the first clinical cases are: Miss Anna O. andMrs. Emmy von N., on the one hand; Miss Lucy R., Katharina… and Miss Elisabeth von R., onthe other. By following this approach one can discover the foundations of psychoanalysis,and the transition from the phase of hypnosis and dream interpretation to the definitivephase of free association focused on the maieutic method.