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J. M. Masson's The assault on truth and the origins of psychoanalysis.

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Title: J. M. Masson's The assault on truth and the origins of psychoanalysis.
Authors: Bonomi, Carlo (AUTHOR)
Source: International Forum of Psychoanalysis. Jun2026, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p111-125. 15p.
Subjects: History of psychoanalysis, Seduction, Psychoanalysis, Patients, Psychoanalysts, Genital mutilation, Child sexual abuse, Freud, Sigmund, 1856-1939, Masturbation
Abstract: The assault on truth by Jeffrey Masson marked out an epoch in the history of the discipline. Yet, its arguments were not given the attention they deserved. In this two-part article I will try to fill this gap. In the first part I will summarize what has changed in these four decades in both society and psychoanalysis. The criticism of the new category of "child sexual abuse" serves as a bridge to the second part, in which I enter into the substance of the issues raised by Masson. I argue that Freud's seduction theory emerges from the need to dismantle the dominant etiological concept of "sexual excesses" by differentiating between masturbation and seduction. Without such a theory psychoanalysis would never have come to light. At a time when childhood masturbation was a sign of "precocious depravity" and was often cured by excision, seduction theory enabled Freud to establish a therapeutic alliance with his main patient, Emma Eckstein, at the cost, however, of disassociating the fact that she had been "circumcised" (excised) as a child. Finally, I suggest that recognition of Emma Eckstein's genital mutilation would have promoted a revision of the theory in the same direction that was later be developed by Ferenczi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of International Forum of Psychoanalysis is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: J. M. Masson's The assault on truth and the origins of psychoanalysis.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22International+Forum+of+Psychoanalysis%22">International Forum of Psychoanalysis</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 35 Issue 2, p111-125. 15p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22History+of+psychoanalysis%22">History of psychoanalysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Seduction%22">Seduction</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychoanalysis%22">Psychoanalysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Patients%22">Patients</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Psychoanalysts%22">Psychoanalysts</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Genital+mutilation%22">Genital mutilation</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+sexual+abuse%22">Child sexual abuse</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Freud%2C+Sigmund%2C+1856-1939%22">Freud, Sigmund, 1856-1939</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Masturbation%22">Masturbation</searchLink>
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  Data: The assault on truth by Jeffrey Masson marked out an epoch in the history of the discipline. Yet, its arguments were not given the attention they deserved. In this two-part article I will try to fill this gap. In the first part I will summarize what has changed in these four decades in both society and psychoanalysis. The criticism of the new category of "child sexual abuse" serves as a bridge to the second part, in which I enter into the substance of the issues raised by Masson. I argue that Freud's seduction theory emerges from the need to dismantle the dominant etiological concept of "sexual excesses" by differentiating between masturbation and seduction. Without such a theory psychoanalysis would never have come to light. At a time when childhood masturbation was a sign of "precocious depravity" and was often cured by excision, seduction theory enabled Freud to establish a therapeutic alliance with his main patient, Emma Eckstein, at the cost, however, of disassociating the fact that she had been "circumcised" (excised) as a child. Finally, I suggest that recognition of Emma Eckstein's genital mutilation would have promoted a revision of the theory in the same direction that was later be developed by Ferenczi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
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  Data: <i>Copyright of International Forum of Psychoanalysis is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1080/0803706X.2024.2414971
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 15
        StartPage: 111
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      – SubjectFull: History of psychoanalysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Seduction
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychoanalysis
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Patients
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Psychoanalysts
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      – SubjectFull: Genital mutilation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Child sexual abuse
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Freud, Sigmund, 1856-1939
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      – SubjectFull: Masturbation
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            – D: 01
              M: 06
              Text: Jun2026
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              Y: 2026
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