A General Introduction to PsychoanalysisFreud, Sigmund
Science
A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis
Freud, Sigmund
Psychoanalysis
We may now claim that we have made further progress in understanding
errors. We know not only that they are psychic acts, in which we can
recognize meaning and purpose, and that they arise through the mutual
interference of two different intentions, but, in addition, we know that
one of these intentions must have undergone a certain suppression in
order to be able to manifest itself through interference with the other.
The interfering intention must itself first be interfered with before it
can become interfering. Naturally, a complete explanation of the
phenomena which we call errors is not attained to by this. We
immediately see further questions arising, and suspect in general that
there will be more occasions for new questions as we progress further.
We might, for example, ask why the matter does not proceed much more
simply. If there is an existing purpose to suppress a certain tendency
instead of giving it expression, then this suppression should be so
successful that nothing at all of the latter comes to light; or it could
even fail, so that the suppressed tendency attains to full expression.
But errors are compromise formations. They mean some success and some
failure for each of the two purposes. The endangered intention is
neither completely suppressed nor does it, without regard to individual
cases, come through wholly intact. We can imagine that special
conditions must be existent for the occurrence of such interference or
compromise formations, but then we cannot even conjecture what sort they
may be. Nor do I believe that we can uncover these unknown circumstances
through further penetration into the study of errors. Rather will it be
necessary thoroughly to examine other obscure fields of psychic life.
Only the analogies which we there encounter can give us the courage to
draw those assumptions which are requisite to a more fundamental
elucidation of errors. And one thing more. Even working with small
signs, as we have constantly been in the habit of doing in this
province, brings its dangers with it. There is a mental disease,
combined paranoia, in which the utilization of such small signs is
practiced without restriction and I naturally would not wish to give it
as my opinion that these conclusions, built up on this basis, are
correct throughout. We can be protected from such dangers only by the
broad basis of our observations, by the repetition of similar
impressions from the most varied fields of psychic life.
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