Ego psychology and the problem of adaptation / tr. by David Rapaport.
One becomes aware of the tremendous impact of his theories when one finds that it was in this essay that concepts such as the undifferentiated phase, the conflict-free ego sphere, conflict-free ego development, and primary and secondary autonomy were developed for the first time. Hartmann discusses...
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| Format: | Ebook |
| Language: | English German |
| Published: |
New York :
International Universities Press,
[1958]
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| Series: | Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Monograph series ;
no. 1. |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | Psychoanalytic Electronic Publishing Archive eBooks (PEPWEB) APA PsycBooks |
| Summary: | One becomes aware of the tremendous impact of his theories when one finds that it was in this essay that concepts such as the undifferentiated phase, the conflict-free ego sphere, conflict-free ego development, and primary and secondary autonomy were developed for the first time. Hartmann discusses the role of endowment and of the inborn ego apparatuses and their adaptive nature. The idea that ego defenses may simultaneously serve the control of instinctual drives and the adaptation to the external world finds its expression in this essay. Hartmann's concept of adaptation is in no way restricted to the "cultural" sense of the term. It is a truly inclusive conception, and he views it as an ongoing process, which has its roots in the biological structure, and with many of its manifestations reflecting the constant attempts of the ego to balance intrasystemic and intersystemic tensions. The implications of his theory for the development of perception and thought processes, the concepts of ego strength, ego weakness, and of normality, are also discussed. Neutralization, and the impact of this construct on the concept of sublimation, evolves quite naturally from this paper. One sees in this work a systematic attempt to establish within the framework of a psychoanalytic ego psychology the groundwork for a theory of human behavior in general, normal as well as abnormal. The great sweep of Hartmann's exceptionally rich intellect has made it possible for him in this task to integrate the whole field of psychoanalytic knowledge with the related fields of biology, psychology, sociology, and philosophy. The opportunity to read this essay will reintroduce psychoanalysts to a cardinal requirement of the scientific method which Dr. Hartmann's work demonstrates, namely his unswerving insistence upon precision in methodology, and upon logical consistency of theory. With it all, the rarefied atmosphere of theory is flavored by a humanistic tolerance and understanding, which is discernible in his discussions of rational and irrational behavior, automatism and mechanisms of integration"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved). |
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| Item Description: | Translation of Ich-Psychologie und Anpassungsproblem, originally published in Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse und Imago, 1939. |
| Physical Description: | 1 online resource (xi, 121 pages). |
| Format: | Mode of access: World Wide Web. |