A General Introduction to PsychoanalysisFreud, Sigmund
Science
A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis
Freud, Sigmund
Psychoanalysis
We very recently subjected a number of dreams to interpretation, but
left wish-fulfillment entirely out of consideration. I am convinced that
the question again and again occurred to you: "What about
wish-fulfillment, which ostensibly is the goal of dream-work?" This
question is important. It was, in fact, the question of our lay-critics.
As you know, humanity has an instinctive antagonism toward intellectual
novelties. The expression of such a novelty should immediately be
reduced to its narrowest limits, if possible, comprised in a commonplace
phrase. Wish-fulfillment has become that phrase for the new
dream-science. The layman asks: "Where is the wish-fulfillment?"
Immediately, upon having heard that the dream is supposed to be a
wish-fulfillment, and indeed, by the very asking of the question, he
answers it with a denial. He is at once reminded of countless
dream-experiences of his own, where his aversion to the dream was
enormous, so that the proposition of psychoanalytic dream-science seems
very improbable to him. It is a simple matter to answer the layman that
wish-fulfillment cannot be apparent in distorted dreams, but must be
sought out, so that it is not recognized until the dream is interpreted.
We know, too, that the wishes in these distorted dreams are prohibited
wishes, are wishes rejected by the censor and that their existence lit
the very cause of the dream distortion and the reason for the intrusion
of the dream censor. But it is hard to convince the lay-critic that one
may not seek the wish-fulfillment in the dream before the dream has been
interpreted. This is continually forgotten. His sceptical attitude
toward the theory of wish-fulfillment is really nothing more than a
consequence of dream-censorship, a substitute and a result of the denial
of this censored dream-wish.
To be sure, even we shall find it necessary to explain to ourselves why
there are so many dreams of painful content, and especially dreams of
fear. We see here, for the first time, the problem of the affects in the
dream, a problem worthy of separate investigation, but which
unfortunately cannot be considered here. If the dream is a
wish-fulfillment, painful experiences ought to be impossible in the
dream; in that the lay-critics apparently are right. But three
complications, not thought of by them, must be taken into consideration.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account