A Response to `Mind' by S.H. Foulkes and Dahlin's Challenge - `Group Analysis Has No Theory! Foulkes Failed Us. Did He?' (Group Analysis September 2003).

The article presents the view of the author on the article "Mind" by S.H. Foulkes and "Group Analysis Has No Theory! Foulkes Failed Us. Did He?" by Olov Dahlin. According to the author, Foulkes might not be the most engaging of writers, yet he seemed to have the knack of raising subtle questions in the reader. His is a suggestive style willing the reader on to think for themselves. The author found the paper of Dahlin, as playful, evocative and provocative. Foulkes was acting as a good facilitator, not quite answering his own questions, but posing problems and inviting the reader to struggle. Dahlin previously asserted that Foulkes does not lack a theory as such, but a metatheory. "Foundationalism" is defined as an effort to secure the ground, the ultimate ground on which judgment can be made. It is about achieving clarity, the reduction of doubt, discerning the ultimate categories of thinking or rationality. The article states that, Dahlin is right to say that group analysis did not develop a metatheory. Foundation provides security, bearings and a place from which people build and look at the edifice of psychoanalysis over the decade.