DR. TOM WILLIAMS, Washington, D. C.: The value of formulation we know. It
has been well illustrated by Dr. Hall's paper that he has by definite
concept followed out by investigation of this. The disadvantage of
formulation is very well shown by over-formulation by the scholastics in the
Middle Ages. I think Dr. Hall's wonderful contribution to our psychological
researches should be kept in mind by those who have excessively formulated
in a certain direction in order that some of us at least may apply to some
of the other emotions what others have attempted concerning libido. Dr.
Prince has long appealed for other methods than those which have been
applied so exclusively to the sexuality. In reference to the manifestation
of the anger trend, for instance, it may be not only a definitely conscious
manifestation, but it may perhaps produce a crisis even in dream-thought. I
am speaking of a case. A young boy at boarding school who was a musical
genius had been very much bullied. He suffered a great deal from this, but
did not retaliate until one night in the dormitory with eight boys while
asleep, he being badgered by neighbors, got up while asleep and attacked
these larger boys and discomfited them. It was the subject of conversation
in the dormitory, whether he was really asleep or not. The boy became so
terrible in his anger on future occasions and so successful as a fighter
that his bullying thereafter ceased, and his status in the school thereafter
was different. Whether this really occurred in a dream state or was mere
simulation I cannot say.
DR. A. A. BRILL, New York City: I must say that the mechanisms described so
interestingly by Pres. Hall are found in our patients during analysis and I
believe that almost all of them belong to the love and hate principles. This
may not seem so on superficial examination, thus, I have on record nine
cases of women who were suffering from various forms of psychoneurosis, one
of whose symptoms was screaming. Every once in a while they had to scream.
It was an obsessive screaming. Questioning elicited that the screaming
always occurred when they were thinking of some terrible or painful thought.
For instance, one woman went through fancies of killing her husband and when
she came to the idea of shooting him, she began to scream. Here one might
think that it was an ethical struggle which had nothing to do with sex, but
if one considers that it was against her husband that her anger was
directed, that she wished to kill him because he abused her and that there
was another man in the case, it becomes quite clear that the anger had a
sexual motive.
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