The Royal Society of South Africa and the Academy of Science of South Africa invite you to a webinar on ‘A neuroscientist re-evaluates Freud and the talking cure’ by Professor Mark Solms, Director of Neuropsychology at the Neuroscience Institute, University of Cape Town on 19th August 2026 @ 17h00 SAST.
Abstract: Mark Solms is the editor and translator of Freud’s complete works, but he is also a neuroscientist. In this talk, he will evaluate the current status of Freudian ideas in light of modern neuroscientific knowledge. He will also review the evidence for how surprisingly well talk therapy works in comparison to drug therapy. He will comment along the way on why Freud and psychoanalysis have always been mired in such controversy.
About the Speaker: Professor Mark Solms is Director of Neuropsychology at the Neuroscience Institute of the University of Cape Town. He is also Honorary Lecturer in Neurosurgery at the St Bartholomew’s & Royal London Hospital School of Medicine and an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Psychiatrists. He is a member of the British Psychoanalytical Society and the American and South African Psychoanalytic Associations. He has received numerous honours and awards, including the Sigourney Prize. He has published more than 400 scientific papers, and nine books, the latest being The Only Cure (2026). He is the authorized editor and translator of the Revised Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud (24 volumes) and the forthcoming Complete Neuroscientific Works of Sigmund Freud (4 volumes).
Date: Wednesday 19th August 2026
Time: 17h00
ALL WELCOME – PLEASE FORWARD TO COLLEAGUES AND FRIENDS
– a video of this talk will appear on our website about a week after the event.
Website: www.royalsocietysa.org.za
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