Crews died. I enjoyed his polemics in the pages of The New York Review of Books. The way he answered critics was masterful. I went back and read today his exchange on alien abductions. It is a master class in critical thinking.
He single-handedly (not really, there were others too) took down Freud. His last book on Freud from 2017 was tiresome, and I couldn't get through the whole thing. It just was too relentless and long, though for that reason it is utterly convincing. I just didn't need more convincing at that point.
I began by rooting for the Freudians to be able to answer Crews with better arguments. Surely, there had to be some better arguments, but no, apparently not.
Those Freud articles in the NYRB in the 90s also ended my engagement with Freud. And I agree that the letters by the Freudians did not help their cause at all.
ReplyDeleteI sort of want this review:
ReplyDeleteYour book was tiresome.
I couldn't get through it.
It was relentless and long and utterly convincing.
I didn't need more convincing.