Reflections on Sigmund Freud's relationship to the German language and to some German-speaking authors of the...

The discussion of the papers of Anzieu and Ticho on 'The Influence of the German-Language Culture on Freud's Thought' concentrates on two aspects of the theme. Firstly, the question is considered in how far specific individual words (e.g. 'Trieb'), as well as specific basic grammatical structures of the German language (e.g. certain forms of the passive voice; the flexibility in changing between the parts of speech) made the verbal grasp of unconscious and preconscious phenomena easier for Freud, i.e. facilitated the conceptualization of psychoanalysis. The second aspect deals with the young reader Freud's predilection for those German-speaking authors--from Lessing to Heine--writing in the Enlightenment tradition. identification with these critical, rebellious thinkers contributed to the consolidation of Freud's personality. He himself stressed again and again the overriding importance of his steadfastness of character and his disbelief in authority for his life's achievement: the discovery of the unconscious in spite of inner and outer resistance.