Our ED's and Stan K-Bootle's sense of humor is back! Such good
news.
Stan K-B inquires if he can "point out a potential
grammatical ambiguity in 'Masson concluded that Freud might have
rejected the seduction theory' ...The subtle distinction between might
(less probable) and may (more probable) remains real in
serious, formal writing, but elsewhere relaxed... Even with the added
quirk that might is the past-tense of may, we are
tempted read the Wiki assertion as 'Masson concluded that Freud might,
or might NOT, have rejected the seduction theory'. As opposed to
"Masson concluded that Freud may, almost certainly, have rejected the
seduction theory".
JM: May I also point out that there is another
issue at stake - and a far more pertinent one to decide in connection
to "Lolita" and Humbert Humbert? (not that its timing shall
alter anything in connection to VN's composition of the novel) - "When, not
if or why, did Freud abandon his seduction theory?"
It is widely known and agreed upon that, fortunately, abandon it
he did. This transformation led to the general advancement of
psychoanalytic theory and practice, at least in non-utilitarian
countries, by giving more importance to what lies behind the story
that's being shown or told by the individual, and less importance to
environmental factors (those are better dealt with by other branches of
expertise, not by psychoanalysis).Freud started to work on the idea
that it's the internal reality, i.e., the individual's fantasy-world
that is responsible for disturbances in the realm of "transference
neurosis"*, and he limited the scope of what was possible to achieve
by the psychoanalytic treatment.
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* This terminology is now out-dated - not Freud's insights into
the workings of fantasy life and its consequences. .