ABSTRACTIf psychoanalysis is a science, then it differs in important ways from other sciences, such as physics, which are often taken as paradigmatic in the field. It does so above all because living beings place a demand upon time. Out of this demand value springs. In the case of human beings, this demand, studied in its greatest depth by psychoanalysis, is not only for the values of survival and reproductive success but also for the values that conduce to psychological growth and health. To incorporate this objective importance of values into a scientific picture involves a huge shift in the way in which we conceive the world, with implications for the wider perception of the sciences in general.