Time and the après-coup.

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychoanalysis
• Philosophy of Time

Background:

• Understanding temporal experiences is crucial in psychological and psychoanalytic contexts.
• The concept of 'après-coup' highlights retroactive meaning-making.
• Existing frameworks often struggle to capture the complex, non-linear nature of subjective time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore diverse temporalities, including developmental time, après-coup, and a newly proposed 'reverberation time'.
• To analyze the paradoxical nature of the 'here and now' experience.
• To elucidate the inherent connection between progressive and retrospective temporal processes.

Main Methods:

• Conceptual analysis of temporal theories.
• Examination of micro-level sessional material from clinical practice.
• Exploration of psychoanalytic concepts and their temporal dimensions.

Main Results:

• Identified distinct temporalities: developmental time, après-coup, and reverberation time.
• Demonstrated that the 'here and now' is not a simple present but a complex temporal construct.
• Revealed the interdependent relationship between forward-moving and backward-looking temporal processes.

Conclusions:

• Subjective time is characterized by multiple, interacting temporalities.
• The 'here and now' is dynamically shaped by past and future orientations.
• Progressive and retrospective time are mutually constitutive, essential for psychological development and clinical understanding.