Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido. A Contribution to the History of the Evolution of ThoughtJung, C. G. (Carl Gustav)
Philosophy
Psychology of the Unconscious: A Study of the Transformations and Symbolisms of the Libido. A Contribution to the History of the Evolution of Thought
Jung, C. G. (Carl Gustav)
Libido (Psychology); Mother and child; Psychoanalysis; Subconsciousness; Symbolism (Psychology)
At this early time great attention was given towards developing a
technique which would render more easy the reproduction of these
forgotten memories, for with the abandonment of hypnosis it was seen
that some unknown active force was at work which not only banished
painful memories and feelings, but also prevented their return; this was
called _resistance_. This resistance was found to be the important
mechanism which interfered with a free flow of thought and produced the
greatest difficulty in the further conduct of the analysis. It appeared
under various guises and frequently manifested itself in intellectual
objections based on reasoning ground, in criticism directed towards the
analyst, or in criticism of the method itself, and finally, often in a
complete blocking of expression, so that until the resistance was broken
nothing more could be produced.
It was necessary then to find some aid by which these resistances could
be overcome and the repressed memories and feelings revived and set
free. For it was proven again and again that even though the person was
not at all aware of concealing within himself some emotionally
disturbing feeling or experience with which his symptoms were
associated, yet such was the fact, and that under proper conditions this
material could be brought into consciousness. This realm where these
unknown but disturbing emotions were hidden was called the
“Unconscious”—the “Unconscious” also being a name used arbitrarily to
indicate all that material of which the person is not aware at the given
time—the not-conscious.
This term is used very loosely in Freudian psychology and is not
intended to provoke any academic discussion but to conform strictly to
the dictionary classification of a “negative concept which can neither
be described nor defined.” To say that an idea or feeling is unconscious
merely means to indicate that the individual is unaware at that time of
its existence, or that all the material of which he is unaware at a
given time is unconscious.
With the discovery of the significance in relation to hysteria of these
varied experiences and forgotten memories which always led into the
erotic realm and usually were carried far back into early childhood, the
theory of an infantile sexual trauma as a cause of this neurosis
developed. Contrary to the usual belief that children have no sexuality
and that only at puberty does it suddenly arise, it was definitely shown
that there was a very marked kind of sexuality among children of the
most tender years, entirely instinctive and capable of producing a grave
effect on the entire later life.
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