Abstract
The formal problems in developmental theory of continuity and change are examined through a consideration of Melvin Feffer’s 1982 work The Structure of Freudian Thought. In Feffer’s analysis, development is characterized by a two-stage process: a pars pro toto schema in which one element of a total relation is highlighted, and a subsequent level of hierarchical reorganization. This model is used to assess several psychological theories, including instinct theory, behaviorism, and psychoanalytic theory, for their capacity to handle formally the crucial and complex problems of continuity and change. How does developmental theory account for continuity in the face of change and for the residue of earlier experience? The case for psychoanalytic theory and for developmental theory is examined from the perspective of critical theory and hermeneutics.