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The Sexual and psychical reality
1Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada; Canadian Psychoanalytic Society and Institute, Montréal, Canada.
The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis
|May 4, 2021
Summary
Psychoanalysis centers on the Sexual, but it's not the sole interpretive key. Psychopathology arises from unresolved sexual enigmas, requiring analysis of repetition compulsion for healthier resolutions.
Area of Science:
- Psychoanalytic theory
- Psychopathology
- Psychosexual development
Background:
- The Sexual is a core concept in psychoanalysis, alongside translation/repression, resistance, transference, and Nachträglichkeit.
- However, overemphasizing the Sexual as the sole interpretive key can limit psychoanalytic understanding.
- Laplanche's Generalized Seduction Theory offers a translational model of the mind.
Purpose of the Study:
- To re-evaluate the role of the Sexual within psychoanalytic theory and clinical practice.
- To explore the relationship between the enigmatic nature of the Sexual and the development of psychopathology.
- To guide psychoanalysts in utilizing the concept of the Sexual effectively in their clinical work.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical analysis of psychoanalytic concepts, particularly the Sexual and its relation to psychopathology.
- Application of Laplanche's Generalized Seduction Theory and its translational model of the mind.
- Examination of clinical implications, focusing on repetition compulsion as a manifestation of unresolved sexual issues.
Main Results:
- The Sexual, presented enigmatically to the infant psyche, functions as the central 'Question' in psychoanalytic thought.
- Psychopathology represents arrested, non-evolutive 'Answers' to this fundamental sexual enigma.
- Repetition compulsion clinically signifies these arrested forms, hindering satisfactory resolutions.
Conclusions:
- Psychoanalysts should not exclusively rely on the Sexual as an interpretive tool.
- Analyzing the arrested forms of the Sexual within repetition compulsion is crucial for therapeutic progress.
- This analytical approach aims to facilitate new, more adaptive solutions to the enduring sexual enigma.
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