The Epistemological Foundations of Freud’s Energetics Model
This article aims to clarify the epistemological foundations of the Freudian energetics model, starting with a historical review of the 19th century scientific context in which Freud’s research lay down its roots. Beyond the physiological and anatomical references of Project for a Scientific Psychol...
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doaj-dcc24ec970aa44f6a39517af7674d8672020-11-24T20:59:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782018-10-01910.3389/fpsyg.2018.01861410826The Epistemological Foundations of Freud’s Energetics ModelJessica Tran The0Jessica Tran The1Jessica Tran The2Pierre Magistretti3Pierre Magistretti4Pierre Magistretti5François Ansermet6François Ansermet7Agalma Foundation, Geneva, SwitzerlandDépartment of Psychoanalytical Studies, Paris 7 Diderot University, Paris, FranceInstitute of Medical Humanities, Université de Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandAgalma Foundation, Geneva, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Brain Mind Institute, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, Lausanne, SwitzerlandDivision of Biological and Environmental Science and Engineering, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Thuwal, Saudi ArabiaAgalma Foundation, Geneva, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, SwitzerlandThis article aims to clarify the epistemological foundations of the Freudian energetics model, starting with a historical review of the 19th century scientific context in which Freud’s research lay down its roots. Beyond the physiological and anatomical references of Project for a Scientific Psychology (Freud, 1895a), the physiology Freud makes reference to is in reality primarily anchored in an epistemological model derived from physics. Whilst across the Rhine, the autonomy of physiology in relation to physics was far from being accomplished, as a counterpoint, in France, the revolution in physiology driven by Claude Bernard established itself autonomously from physics,. In contrast, Freud’s scientific landscape is entirely dominated by the physics elevated to the rank of an ideal science. The influence of Helmholtz, who is both a medical doctor and a physicist, has a determining influence on Freud’s training. The discoveries in physics at that time, in particular the formulation of the principle of ‘conservation of force’ – first principle of thermodynamics – will constitute the points of reference upon which Freud will elaborate his energetics model, then subsequently, the idea of economy in his metapsychology. In this way we can trace both the historic and epistemological path that led Freud from a concept based on physics, and more specifically thermodynamic energy, to an idea of nervous energy that constitutes the basis of the concept of “quantity” as it is stated as ‘first fundamental idea’ in Project for a Scientific Psychology (Freud, 1895a). This notion will subsequently evolve, and lead Freud to the introduction of the concept of ‘psychical energy,’ this time in a purely metapsychological sense.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01861/fullenergyFreudthermodynamicsepistemologyHelmholtzphysics |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Jessica Tran The Jessica Tran The Jessica Tran The Pierre Magistretti Pierre Magistretti Pierre Magistretti François Ansermet François Ansermet |
spellingShingle |
Jessica Tran The Jessica Tran The Jessica Tran The Pierre Magistretti Pierre Magistretti Pierre Magistretti François Ansermet François Ansermet The Epistemological Foundations of Freud’s Energetics Model Frontiers in Psychology energy Freud thermodynamics epistemology Helmholtz physics |
author_facet |
Jessica Tran The Jessica Tran The Jessica Tran The Pierre Magistretti Pierre Magistretti Pierre Magistretti François Ansermet François Ansermet |
author_sort |
Jessica Tran The |
title |
The Epistemological Foundations of Freud’s Energetics Model |
title_short |
The Epistemological Foundations of Freud’s Energetics Model |
title_full |
The Epistemological Foundations of Freud’s Energetics Model |
title_fullStr |
The Epistemological Foundations of Freud’s Energetics Model |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Epistemological Foundations of Freud’s Energetics Model |
title_sort |
epistemological foundations of freud’s energetics model |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Psychology |
issn |
1664-1078 |
publishDate |
2018-10-01 |
description |
This article aims to clarify the epistemological foundations of the Freudian energetics model, starting with a historical review of the 19th century scientific context in which Freud’s research lay down its roots. Beyond the physiological and anatomical references of Project for a Scientific Psychology (Freud, 1895a), the physiology Freud makes reference to is in reality primarily anchored in an epistemological model derived from physics. Whilst across the Rhine, the autonomy of physiology in relation to physics was far from being accomplished, as a counterpoint, in France, the revolution in physiology driven by Claude Bernard established itself autonomously from physics,. In contrast, Freud’s scientific landscape is entirely dominated by the physics elevated to the rank of an ideal science. The influence of Helmholtz, who is both a medical doctor and a physicist, has a determining influence on Freud’s training. The discoveries in physics at that time, in particular the formulation of the principle of ‘conservation of force’ – first principle of thermodynamics – will constitute the points of reference upon which Freud will elaborate his energetics model, then subsequently, the idea of economy in his metapsychology. In this way we can trace both the historic and epistemological path that led Freud from a concept based on physics, and more specifically thermodynamic energy, to an idea of nervous energy that constitutes the basis of the concept of “quantity” as it is stated as ‘first fundamental idea’ in Project for a Scientific Psychology (Freud, 1895a). This notion will subsequently evolve, and lead Freud to the introduction of the concept of ‘psychical energy,’ this time in a purely metapsychological sense. |
topic |
energy Freud thermodynamics epistemology Helmholtz physics |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01861/full |
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