[Buddha-l] Buddhism and Psychology research

[Dan Lusthaus]

Erik,

>Freud´s work on ´Totem und Tabu´ was not very solidly based on evidence,

He was an avid student of the new field of anthropology of his day, and 
personally had an extensive collection of ancient and primitive artifacts 
(primitive artifacts were in vogue then; Picasso also had a collection). 
However that work is viewed today, it was influential in its day and for 
nearly a century since. It also immediately had its detractors. Sign of a 
vibrant theory.

One might also complain about how evidence was gathered and used by 
Durkheim, Malinowsky, Levi-Strauss, Margaret Mead, and other pioneers.

>nor was his work about the malaise in Western civilisation at the end of
his life.

Civilization and its Discontents, along with The Future of an Illusion, 
still serve as bread and butter (as Richard put it) in many Religion 
departments. People are sometimes uncomfortable with his observations but 
these two books of social criticism hold up even today.

This, and a few other works, are all that the superficial readers of Freud 
dabble in. His bookshelf is much larger than that. This is the stuff that 
the Philosopher-Rel Studies metonymized as "Freud" that is obsolete. The 
scientists are beginning to rediscover his other writings, the one's ignored 
by Philosopher-Religio types. Just as Analytic philosophers are beginning to 
rediscover Husserl (after half a century of believing that calling him names 
was an adequate philosophical response to his work).

>He supported the adventures of his daughter Anna and his
nephew Ed Bernays, which was not very scientific.

????

>He stood at the birth of a tsunami of therapies that all were less 
>scientific than medieval
witchcraft.

You are blaming him for what his posthumous rivals concocted?

>I mean: he was a smart guy that´s true, but he could be very sloppy. He
had much faith in science, but he was not very well versed in it.

Actually he must much better versed in science than you are versed in him. 
Take another look at
http://www.neuro-psa.org.uk/download/SAorig.pdf

Dan