Finished!...July 6/13 (previous renditions: June 7, 8, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 29, July 5, 2013...)
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A/ Introduction: Is Freud and Classical Psychoanalysis Still Relevant Today? Does It Need To Be Kept The Same, Buried, or Re-Constructed, Re-Vitalized Relative To 21st Century Culture, Values, and Interpretations?
1. Foundational Assumptions
Good day!
Let me quickly share with you my overall thesis regarding psychoanalysis -- specifically Freudian Psychoanalysis -- which today is only a very limited part of what Contemporary Psychoanalysis is teaching.
Let's imagine that you are looking at a very old, Victorian house built in the early 1900s. It is a stunning house -- full of features that you would not find in a house built today. And yet there are a number of fundamental flaws in the house that could cost a lot of money to fix, right down to the very foundation of the house. Do you try to fix it, restore it, renovate it?
Do you change -- or at least modify -- the design of the house to make it more foundationally and fundamentally sound? To make it a viable, working house in the 21st century? But, in so doing, you garner the wrath of the 'historical preservationists' who wish to keep the design and the architecture of the original building -- without anything -- I mean ANYTHING -- being changed to tarnish the 'historical value' of its original structure. Maybe turn it into a 'museum' -- a historical museum -- that may lean precariously to one side like The Leaning Tower of Pisa -- but still, you are keeping the original structure of the original building fully in tact without even any minor modifications to it?
The house might not be good for anything 'functionally relevant today', but still, you can walk through it and enjoy its original architecture.
A distinction could be made between two 'conflicting factions' -- the 'historical preservationists' vs. the 'contemporary functionalists' -- with competing aims: the first, to completely preserve the original structure and architecture of the house; the second to make minor and/or major modifications, even architectural changes, to the structure and internal working functions of the house to make it a more 'viable, functionally working' house for the 21st century.
Well, I belong to this second group. Call me a contemporary functionalist who still loves much of the original architecture of the original house but not to the point that the house is becoming less and less functionally viable as the years have rolled on, and into the 21st century.
Dr. Jeffrey Masson, the former Projects Director of The Freud Archives, was once quoted as saying that he would 'open up the windows' of The Freud House and let some fresh air into the house -- and by that comment, I am sure that he was referring as much to Freud's metaphorically 'outdated, Victorian, Patriarchal, psycho-analytic house' as he was to the one he actually spent a lot of time in, going over all of Freud's early, un-publicized letters.
If I was Dr. Masson -- who I most obviously am not -- I would feel 'unfinished' regarding his 'deconstructionist opinions' of Freud's 'Classical' Psychoanalysis after 1896, and I would want to write a final, follow-up book to his 'The Assault on Truth: Freud's Suppression of The Seduction Theory'; and 'Final Analysis: The Making and Unmaking of a Psychoanalyst'. I would probably want to call his last book: 'Beyond The Assault on Truth: New-Old Psychoanalysis -- Reconstructed and Re-Vitalized'.
Now, I consider myself to be somewhat of a 'student' of Dr. Masson's. It was Masson's two books cited above, as well as the book not written by himself that Masson definitely didn't like because he claimed he was repetitively misquoted in the book, 'In The Freud Archives' by Janet Malcolm, that 'hooked' me to the whole issue at stake (i.e., 'The Seduction -- Childhood Sexual Abuse -- Theory Controversy') as well as the entire, general field and study of Psychoanalysis.
The results of my 'recreational' labor on and off over the last 20 years or so can be found in the essays that I have already written, as well as the new essays to follow.
I stated partly in my online interview of Dr. Masson back in 2010 that I consider myself to be a 'multi-integrative' psychoanalytic and non-psychoanalytic thinker' who wanted -- and still wants -- to show the world that ALL of Freud's some 46 years of professional theorizing can be brought logically and cohesively in line with the two theories that Freud thought were 'mutually exclusive and contradictory' -- i.e., his pre-1897 combined 'reality-traumacy-seduction-acquired learning' theory vs. his post-1896 more biologically oriented 'fantasy-childhood sexuality-instinct-Oedipus' theory.
That goal -- to integrate what I consider to be the best of the psychoanalytic and non-psychoanalytic ideas that are out there today, available to any passionate, motivated student of psychology -- still remains my intent as of this moment. Many of the ideas have evolved on this site over the last number of years. I will now take you the next step forward.
Let's see if I can re-state some of the main ideas that I have already incorporated into my 'GAP-DGB Philosophy-Psychology and Neo-Psychoanalytic Paradigm' ('GAP' standing for 'Gestalt-Adlerian-Psychoanalysis as well as 'the gaps that I have aimed to close' between these theories -- and all other theories that I have aimed to integrate, which is part of what the 'DGB' stands for -- 'Dialectic-Gap-Bridging').
My overall aim is to communicate in as clear, simple, and understandable a language as possible, while also clearly distinguishing the difference between Freud's ideas and the ideas that I am presenting now as my own modifications and/or more radical departures from Freud's 'Pre-' (before 1897) and/or 'Classical' (after 1896) Psychoanalysis...
Let's start with my own particular brand of Dialectic Trauma-Fantasy Theory -- built significantly from Freud's 1894 'The Neuro-Psychoses of Defence' which I view as Freud's best theoretical essay. Freud was (by the math of the publication date) 38 years old when he wrote this essay. In contrast, Freud was 67 years old when he wrote one of his most famous theoretical essays -- 'The Ego and The Id' -- in 1923. The first was written before Freud largely abandoned his 'traumacy theory' in the years of 'Pre'-Psychoanalysis (1892 to 1896, again); whereas the latter was written in what, for our purposes here, I will call the 4th stage of Classical Psychoanalysis:
For our purposes here, again, let us distinguish between these five stages of Classical Psychoanalysis:
Stage 1: Instinct-Fantasy Theory: 'Screen Memories' (1899), 'The Interpretation of Dreams' (1899/1900), 'The Psychopathology of Everyday Life' (1901), 'Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious' (1905), 'Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality' (1905), Dora: Fragments of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria (1901/1905)
Stage 2: Transference Theory: 'The Dynamics of Transference' (1912)
Stage 3: Narcissism: 'On Narcissism' (1914);
Stage 4: Life and Death Instinct Theory and The Topography of The Psyche: 'Beyond The Pleasure Principle (1920), 'The Ego and The Id' (1923);
Stage 5: 'Splitting of The Ego in The Process of Defense' (1938), 'An Outline of Psycho-Analysis (1938).
Now, if we were to include 'Pre'-Psychoanalysis within the context of 'Classical' Psychoanalysis which I will now give the name 'Greater Classical' Psychoanalysis to, then we can differentiate (for our purposes here) SEVEN stages of GAP-DGB Greater Classical Neo-Psychoanalysis (GCNP) which are:
Stage 1: 'Narcissistic Fixation-Fantasy-Transference (NFFT)' and 'Transference-Immediacy-Encounter' (TIE)' Theory and Therapy;
Stage 2: Narcissistic-Altruistic-Humanistic-Existential-Romantic-Spiritual (NAHERS) Theory and Therapy;
Stage 3: 'The Splitting of The Ego in The Process of Defense' (SEPD) Theory and Therapy;
Stage 4: Central Ego (Language, Meaning, Logic, Mediation, Conflict Resolution and Problem-Solving) (CE) Theory and Therapy;
Stage 5: Immediacy Awareness and Direct Contact-Communication (IA/DCC) Theory and Therapy;
Stage 6: Lifestyle and Life-Skill (LSLS) Theory and Therapy;
Stage 7: Neo-Hegelian (Thinking-Both-Inside-and-Outside-The-Box) Dialectic Theory and Therapy.
Now, to be clear, there have been many, many 'Freudian Revisionists' before me -- Adler, Jung, Rank, Wilhelm Reich, Klein, Fairbairn, Guntrip, Horney, Fromm, Erickson, Sullivan, Berne, Perls, Janov...to name some of the most prominant, most of whom I have been somewhat to significantly influenced by...
However, none of them, to my knowledge, have attempted to create a 'Greater Classical' (Pre-Psychoanalysis and Classical Psychoanalysis -- integrated) brand of 'Neo-Psychoanalysis'.
I will start this process off today with a brief introductory exposition of GAP-DGB 'Traumacy-Fantasy-Transference' (TFT) Theory...in conjunction with 'The Splitting of The Ego in The Process of Defense' and GAP-DGB Personality and Character Structure Theory....
This exposition combines Freud's 'The Ego and The Id' (EI) (1923) with his much earlier 'The Neuro-Psychoses of Defence' (NPD), as well as integrating my own interpretations, judgments, and outside influences relative to both.
Here is my 10 Stage 'Trauma-Fantasy-Transference' Model...
Which topologically connects with what I view as the subconscious (unconscious and preconscious) dynamics and structures of the personality-psyche-self.
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A/ The More Subconscious (Unconscious and Pre-Conscious) Structures and Psycho-Dynamics of The Personality
1. Reality-Trauma and/or Narcissistic Fixation...(Fright, Panic, Mortification...Curiosity, Interest, Excitement, Obsessive-Compulsion);
2. The First Abyss (Collapse of Value, Self-Image, Self-Esteem...);
3. The Trauma Landing Pit and Partial Safe Haven (Dependency Ledge);
4. The Second, Deeper Abyss (A Drop Off The Partial Safe Haven/Dependency Ledge);
5. Chaos (Complete Disorganization, Entropy);
6. The Genetic Potential Self (GPS, Predispositions, Skills, Talents, Archetypes, Myths...);
7. The Shadow-Id-Ego (our completely raw, uncivil, creative, destructive, paradoxical shadow-id-ego...);
8. The Apeiron (an organizing, associating, differentiating, dissociating ego-structure and process in the subconscious that evolves out of The Shadow-Id-Ego and towards more sophisticated, civil, uncivil, and mixed, conscious ego functions and ego-states...)
9. The Memory-Learning-Transference (MLT) Templates (emotional and non-emotional learning generalizations, distinctions, introjections and identifications, compensations, projections, sublimations, displacements, reaction formations...);
10. The Shadow-Id-Ego Vault (The SIEV -- locked up memories, energy, fantasies, affects, impulses...);
11. Escaped, Released, Disguised...Shadow-Id-Ego (ShIE) Complexes, and Transference-Immediacy Complexes ('TICs');
12. The Subconscious Energy and MLT Conversion-Ego (The Splitting of The Ego in The Process of Defense...converts energy into different, more conscious, classifiable 'ego-states'...)...
Such as:
B/ The More Conscious Ego-States and Ego-Functions In The Personality-Psyche-Self:
13. The Body Ego (conversion hysteria, psychological body symptoms, body self-esteem issues...);
14. The Fantasy Ego (schizophrenia, psychosis, hallucinations, dreams, nightmares, day-dreams, fantasies, creative sublimation...);
15. The Feeling Ego, Romantic Ego, and Phenomenology of Spirit (Anxiety Neurosis, Neurasthenia, Existential Neurosis, Panic, Rage, Grief, Love, Lust...);
16. The Righteous-Critical-Ethical Underego;
17. The Narcissistic-Pleasure-Seeking Underego;
18. The Approval-Seeking/Disapproval-Avoiding Underego;
19. The Conscious Shadow-Id-Ego;
20. The Central Decision-Making Ego;
21. The Social Ego;
22. The Righteous-Critical-Ethical Superego;
23. The Narcissistic-Pleasure-Seeking Superego;
24. The Nurturing-Encouraging Superego;
C/ The Lifestyle and Life-skill Ego-States/Functions:
25. The Business and Finance Ego;
26. The Marriage and Family Ego;
27. The Friendship Ego;
28. The Community Ego;
29. The Philosophy-Psychology-Politics Ego;
30. The Recreation and Leisure Ego.
That will suffice for today...
Perhaps it is too many 'lists' and 'classification compartments' thrown at you at once...
Perhaps -- at this early point in time -- you cannot see the forest for the trees, or alternatively, the trees for the forest....
There are a lot of years -- and probably thousands of hours -- of work being packed into this little essay like a can of sardines....
Specifically, about 40 years of work for the most part in my recreational hours, including: 2 years of high school (1973-74, introduced to 'Psycho-Cybernetics' by Maxwell Maltz, and 'Language in Thought and Action', S.I. Hayakawa); 5 years of university studying primarily humanistic-existential psychology and cognitive therapy integrated with general semantics which resulted in my honours psychology thesis marked by the highly esteemed cognitive-behavior therapist, Dr. Donald Meichenbaum; 2 years of Adlerian psychology at the Adlerian Institute of Ontario associated with The Adlerian Institute in Chicago, and run through The Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) in Toronto (1980-81); 12 years on and off at The Gestalt Institute in Toronto under the directorship of first, Jorge Rosner, and then Joanne Greenham (1979 to 1991); 22 years of self studies in Western Philosophy and Psychoanalysis impassioned mainly by a combination of studies in Gestalt Therapy, Jungian Psychology, and Hegelian Philosophy, then all philosophy; then, my running into Dr. Jeffrey Masson's detailed work in The Freud Archives and afterwards through the 1980s, including his controversial conclusions regarding Freud's 'losing moral courage' relative to Freud's mysterious abandonment of his traumacy-seduction (childhood sexual abuse) theory after 1896 in favor of his later childhood sexuality, instinct, fantasy, Oedipus theory....
My theory of traumacy-fantasy-transference theory is rather 'dialectically complex' combining elements of Freud's work both before and after 1896, and including my learnings from both Adlerian Theory and Gestalt Theory. as well as Object Relations, Self-Psychology and Transactional Analysis.
This synthesis of ideas needs much further exposition and clarification, especially as it pertains to my spin-off of Janet's and Freud's and Klein's and Fairbairn's...related theories of 'the splitting of the ego in the process of defense'.....Freud both started and ended his long professional career in psychoanalysis (let's say here, 1893-1938, i.e., 45 years, writing about 'the splitting of consciousness' and 'the splitting of the ego' (1893-94, and then 1938 just before he died) in between spending about another 43 years (1894-1938) writing about 'repression' which is basically about 'the splitting of conscious from unconscious elements in the personality...
We will talk more about this subject matter when I offer my synopsis and editorial opinions on Freud's obituary of Charcot (1893), his essay, 'On The Psychical Mechanisms of The Phenomena of Hysteria' (1893), and 'The Neuro-Psychoses of Defence' (1894).
Until then,
Have a good evening....
-- dgb, July 6th, 2013...
-- David Gordon Bain...
-- Dialectic Gap Bridging Negotiations, Integrations, and Creations...
-- Are Still in Process...
