Conclusion: The Pragmatic Maxim and the Good Life

The goal of the current volume was to (re)introduce American pragmatism into the landscape of contemporary psychoanalysis, specifically the loosely organized relational movement. As stated in the introduction, contemporary psychoanalysis has undergone a “postmodern” revolution, distancing itself from more classical psychoanalysis. The revolution has led to reconsidering and reworking central topics such as how the self is understood, the role of the analyst’s authority and influence, the nature of transference and countertransference, and the ubiquity of interpersonal enactments. Although no longer considered “revolutionary,” as relational psychoanalysis is now safely “mainstream,” analysts are still grappling with the clinical and theoretical consequences. This process has benefited from including ideas from a variety of fields, such as queer theory and chaos theory. Within this context, this project has argued that pragmatism and pragmatic theory has much to offer contemporary psychoanalysis.