Basic Principles of Freud's Project for Scientific Psychology

Abstract

This paper focuses on Sigmund Freud's manuscript that he wrote in 1895 as a series of letters seeking for biological foundations of human mind. This work significantly differs from what is so typical for Freud as a psychologist. With few exceptions, Freud is not engaged here with psychoanalysis and studies on hysteria, but describes what could be the basis of psychological phenomena at neurophysiological level. Another remarkable fact is that this manuscript was forgotten until the mid-twentieth century when it was published under the title Project for Scientific Psychology. And as we know, neurophysiological studies as rigorous studies of the human mind associated with the analysis of cognitive functions appeared first at the beginning of 60's. The article therefore attempts to show the basic principles of the Project as well as to outline some of the issues that connect Freud to contemporary ideas in neurophysiology of human mind.