Re-Discussion on the Scientific Character of Freud’s Psychoanalysis — Based on Kuhn’s Paradigm and Popper’s Falsification

The scientific nature of Freud’s psychoanalysis has attracted attention from multiple disciplines. Especially in the field of philosophy of science, Popper’s explicit criticism has sparked extensive discussions. This paper re-examines the scientificity of Freud’s psychoanalysis from the perspectives of two renowned 20th-century philosophers of science, Kuhn and Popper. It is found that the establishment process of psychoanalysis is highly consistent with the process of scientific revolution elaborated by Kuhn, and the connotation of psychoanalysis is basically in line with the four components of the disciplinary matrix of a paradigm. Popper’s critical argument that Freud’s Oedipus Complex is unfalsifiable has, with the evidence of a number of domestic and international research materials, turned into a supporting argument for its falsifiability. Finally, the reasons for the persistent controversy over the scientific validity of psychoanalysis established by Freud are discussed and clarified.