vendredi 1 juillet 2011

Quelle vérité?


En 1910 Freud appliqua une lecture psychanalytique au tableau La vierge, l'enfant Jésus et sainte Anne de Léonard de Vinci en rapprochant un souvenir d'enfance de celui-ci avec ce qu'il percevait comme étant la forme inversée d'un vautour dans la robe de Marie.

Dans ses écrits en effet, Léonard fait part d'un rêve dans lequel un vautour l'agresse de sa queue. A partir de ces données Freud élabore une brillante construction explicative de l'homosexualité passive de Léonard.

Mais il apparut plus tard que cette construction reposait sur du sable car la traduction allemande du texte latin sur laquelle Freud s'était appuyé était fautive, l'oiseau dont Léonard se souvenait n'étant pas un vautour mais un milan.

Si non e vero e ben trovato pourrait-on dire mais les conclusions erronées auxquelles Freud arriva servent régulièrement aux détracteurs de la psychanalyse pour dénoncer la prétendue scientificité de celle-ci.

Je ne vois nullement que le travail de Freud soit critiquable en la circonstance puisque la donnée essentielle dont il disposait et à partir de laquelle il fonda son analyse était fausse.

Médecins comme policiers sont des enquêteurs qui cherchent à comprendre une situation donnée et qui le font d'autant plus efficacement qu'ils disposent d'éléments matériels sûrs et irréfutables.

Dans le cas qui nous intéresse et d'une façon plus générale en psychanalyse, il n'y a pas de vérité, il n'y a que des récits dont certains sont plus crédibles que d'autres. La vérité qu'un analysant accorde aux résultats de son propre travail n'a d'autre légitimité que le sentiment de délivrance qu'elle lui apporte.

Quelques jours après l'arrestation de Strauss-Kahn à New York un psychanalyste publia un texte dans Le Monde suggérant que le Directeur du FMI avait parfaitement réussi un acte manqué qui lui permettait de se soustraire à l'obligation d'une candidature dont, au fond, il n'avait pas envie. Sa conclusion était que Strauss Kahn s'était sauvé en se perdant.

Comme il est accoutumé, une partie des lecteurs fut conquise par cette explication (qui n'était d'ailleurs pas bien difficile à trouver) quand une autre, composée des mêmes Geist die stets verneint de reprendre leur sempiternelle rengaine de la non scientificité de la psychanalyse -qui n'a jamais prétendu à une quelconque scientificité par ailleurs. Et d'inlassablement revenir sur le thème des élucubrations dont le seul fondement serait l'imagination des psychanalystes...

Une fois encore, il n'y a pas de vérité mais des récits réels ou imaginaires dont le critère ultime de véracité est la confiance qui peut leur être accordée en fonction des éléments dont on dispose à un moment donné.

Cyrus Vance jr. vient de l'apprendre à ses dépens, un récit d'apparence crédible ne suffit pas à établir une vérité. Un enquêteur, comme un médecin, doit aller au-delà des apparences et ne pas se laisser abuser comme un enfant à l'esprit critique inexistant.

9 commentaires:

Anonyme a dit…

Turns out that Dominique may have been framed by the accuser.

Note that the accuser's name has been spread all of the pages of the French press for quite some time now. In the U.S. the media do not report the accuser's name until such time that the accuser has lost credibility.

If an accuser (a female accusing a male of rape for example) will have her name spread across the pages of newspapers, she will no doubt be reluctant to report the rape.

So although the judiciary system in the U.S. and other anglophone-influenced countries is labeled as "accusatory", in fact it is the press/media in France, Germany etc that is also accusatory. But the accusations are made by the press, and not the courts.

Either way, both the accused and the one doing the accusing are both dragged through the mud in the end.

Flocon a dit…

"Note that the accuser's name has been spread all of the pages of the French press for quite some time now."

I'm always surprised to read how surprised or even angered some comments in the American press are about the fact that the accuser's name is made public in France.

This woman has no connection whatsoever in France so there can be no harm to her here. But the accused is French and the outcome is simply devastating for him.

Names of alleged culprits or alleged victims aren't systematically made public either.

Here again we see the difference between the two systems.

If someone accuses somebody of something, well, it seems perfectly normal that we know who the accuser is. Otherwise there would be a deluge of accusations against the whole world.

Also, during the Occupation many people were reported to the Gestapo by anonymous accusers.

In the US it is apparently normal to give someone the perp walk whereas h/s is presumed innocent until proven guilty. So innocents are given the perp walk treatment for all to see how innocent the person is???

Quite the opposite in France where it is forbidden to publish pictures of people with handcuffs as long as they haven't been proven guilty.

"although the judiciary system in the U.S. and other anglophone-influenced countries is labeled as "accusatory", in fact it is the press/media in France, Germany etc that is also accusatory. But the accusations are made by the press, and not the courts."

You're perfectly right here.

Human nature is such that giving red meat to the populace is an absolute sure bet that the media will secure their sells and audience share no matter the country or the culture.

The perp walk thing is part of a circus that is totally unjustified regarding fairness and equality of treatment. Notwithstanding that it is absolutely unnecessary for the needs of the investigation.

"both the accused and the one doing the accusing are both dragged through the mud in the end."

Yes of course and the media are totally responsible for this state of affair. That's why police officers, lawyers, prosecutors etc. shouldn't play the media card like Cyrus Vance did.

Not that it's any better in France but at least there's nothing like the pilory show which has been such a shock here (and also among many Americans whose reactions I've read and the link you provided some times ago).

Ned Ludd a dit…

Apparently the woman lied about some things, but that doesn't mean she necessarily lied about what happened in the hotel room.

However, now that her credibility has been touched, it is likely that the charges will be dropped because of the difficulty to get a jury to believe her.

Like everyone else, I don't have an idea about the guilt or innocence. Only two people know the truth about the affair, DSK and his accuser.

Ned Ludd a dit…

Instead of a "he said, she said" story, this one is "his lawyers said, her lawyers said" and even becomes a threesome with "the prosecutor said".

Quite a sex triangle.

Flocon a dit…

Apparently a sexual intercourse took place but it may be that the saint woman isn't really a saint.

It doesn't take long for a woman to get what she wants from a man (say less than one minute generally. One minute is a very long time under some circumstances).

If they had consensual sex the case is closed, period. DSK is out of politics anyway.

Simply I have never believed the script of DSK rushing out of his bathroom, groping the maid etc.

After Diallo has started confessing she lied at least four times (!), the police will help her unravel the whole story methinks.

Isn't it very strange that Bernard Debré knew the nickname of the maid (Ophelia) hours after the story broke when nobody knew nothing? And a young UMP tweeted the info before the American media started to publish the news?

On a side note I found it interesting that Poutine -who wasn't born yesterday- also said that he didn't believe the story as it was presented from day one.

Ned Ludd a dit…

Lying four times is not so sure since the electronic key supports one of her statements.

Lying before a grand jury is more serious, but perhaps it is necessary to take into account her limited English and her lack of knowledge of the American justice system.

Maybe if she had had her current lawyer at the time, she would have been better advised.

Flocon a dit…

This electronic keys episode surprised me. The DA himself said (or rather wrote) that the maid admitted that she went into another room after leaving suite 2806 before she returned to said suite.

That was her second version apparently accepted by Vance.

And then the electronic keys analysis seems to confirm the very first version of the maid. So which is which?

On about every single piece of the puzzle we've been given at least two or three version/hearsay/rumor...

As for her feeble ability in English... how do we know her English is so weak if it is? She seems to have lived in the US for seven years which, I admit, isn't evidence of fluency though.

" Maybe if she had had her current lawyer at the time, she would have been better advised."

Oui certainement, c'est leur boulot. Et nous aurions une énième version de l'affaire...

Ned Ludd a dit…

Tout se complique et se corse. Maintenant la mère de T. Banon dit qu'elle à été baisée par DSK, d'après Le Point.

DSK

"Une relation consentie, selon ses propos rapportés par le magazine, mais "brutale", qui se serait déroulée dans un bureau de l'OCDE, à Paris, où DSK avait été nommé, en 2000, conseiller spécial du secrétaire général de l'organisation. Anne Mansouret était alors l'amie de Brigitte Guillemette, ex-femme de DSK et mère de Camille Strauss-Kahn, qui se trouvait être aussi la marraine de Tristane. Camille Strauss-Kahn, justement, a elle aussi été entendue lundi, a-t-on appris mardi de source proche de l'enquête. Sa mère, Brigitte Guillemette, avait, elle, été interrogée vendredi."

Flocon a dit…

Finalement il n'est pas mal trouvé le titre de ce billet...

"Tout se complique et se corse." :-))

Bravo pour le "se corse" Ned, je ne m'y attendais pas! Bientôt tu parleras mieux le français qu'une académicienne ;-)

D'après l'article du point, la piste de la famille tuyaux de poêle se confirme... (I don't know if you know that one though)

Je ne suis pas au courant des derniers développements mais je me dis qu'enfin nous avons nos télénovelas en France!!!