Changes

Rites and [[rituals ]] have been studied from antiquity: Western [[philosophers ]] pondered these practices, which in modern [[times ]] have become an [[object ]] of study in [[anthropology]], ethnology, and [[sociology]]. The diversity of practices makes an authoritative definition problematic, but certain general descriptors apply: A rite is a well-ordered, obligatory [[action ]] or group of actions that is performed precisely and repetitively; it often moves to an [[individual ]] or collective rhythm; its [[meaning ]] and aims are generally opaque, and of no obvious [[practical ]] [[purpose]]. Rites and rituals are related to the sacred: [[religion]], [[magic]], purification, and so forth—the [[notion ]] of the rite of passage remains in use. Sigmund [[Freud]]'s writings on the [[ritual ]] can be included among the great variety on the [[subject]], although, but he privileges the [[German ]] [[word ]] <i>Zeremoniell</i>, meaning ceremonial or ceremonious; in so doing, he underscores the sacred [[character ]] of these practices.From 1894 to 1896 Freud developed the [[idea ]] of [[obsessional ]] [[neurosis]]. In "Further Remarks on the Neuro-[[Psychoses ]] of [[Defence]]" (1896b), in the context of the [[trauma ]] [[theory]], he [[interpreted ]] the ceremonials it can entail. These derive from the idea of obsessive actions, which are among the defenses and result from [[repression]]. Freud cited ceremonials associated with the [[anal ]] zone and with [[infantile ]] [[masturbation ]] in, respectively, <i>[[Three ]] Essays on the Theory of [[Sexuality]]</i> (1905d) and the [[case ]] of [[Dora]], related in "Fragment of an [[Analysis ]] of a Case of [[Hysteria]]" (1905e [1901]). The article "Obsessive Actions and [[Religious ]] [[Practice]]" (1907b) was devoted to this topic and, according to Freud's "Short Account of [[Psycho]]-Analysis" (1924f[1923]), marked the beginning of his [[work ]] on religious [[psychology]]. The deepening of the analogy of the dynamics between [[obsessional neurosis ]] and collective ritual practices, by way of the notion of [[primal ]] [[ambivalence ]] and its expression toward the [[father]], in <i>[[Totem ]] and [[Taboo]]</i> (1912-13a), is the basis for Freud's perspective on individual and collective ceremonials.In "A Short Account of Psycho-Analysis," written in 1923, Freud presented this study in a broad context: "If the [[psychological ]] discoveries gained from the study of [[dreams ]] were firmly kept in view, only one further step was needed before psycho-analysis could be proclaimed as the theory of the deeper [[mental ]] [[processes ]] not directly accessible to consciousness—as a 'depth-psychology'—and before it could be applied to almost all the mental [[sciences]]. This step lay in the transition from the mental [[activity ]] of individual men to the [[psychical ]] functions of [[human ]] communities and peoples—that is, from individual to [[group psychology]]; and many surprising analogies [[forced ]] this transition upon us.... To take an [[instance]]. . . . It is [[impossible ]] to escape the impression of the perfect correspondence which can be discovered between the obsessive actions of certain obsessional [[patients ]] and the religious observances of believers all over the [[world]]. Some cases of obsessional neurosis actually behave like a caricature of a private religion, so that it is tempting to liken the [[official ]] [[religions ]] to an obsessional neurosis that has been mitigated by becoming universalized. This comparison, which is no [[doubt ]] highly objectionable to all believers, has nevertheless proved most fruitful psychologically. For [[psychoanalysis ]] soon discovered in the case of obsessional neurosis what the forces are that [[struggle ]] with one [[another ]] in it till their conflicts find a remarkable expression in the ceremonial of obsessive actions. [[Nothing ]] similar was suspected in the case of religious ceremonial until, by tracing back religious [[feeling ]] to the relation with the father as its deepest root, it became possible to point to an analogous [[dynamic ]] [[situation ]] in that case too" (pp. 205-206).In the <i>Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis</i> (1916-17a [1915-17]), after noting an [[economic ]] [[difference ]] between ceremonials in obsessional neurosis and those of communities, the former expressing a [[defense ]] against [[repressed ]] sexuality and the latter against [[narcissistic ]] and [[aggressive ]] impulses, Freud granted the importance of "extremely strong [[sadistic ]] impulses" in obsessional neurosis. The taboo against [[touching]], whether actual or [[metaphoric]], that is evident in the [[phenomenology ]] of ceremonials thus becomes intelligible. In fact, the fundamental theme of any ritual having to do with "touching" is the "first aim of object-[[cathexis]], whether aggressive or tender," wrote Freud in <i>[[Totem and Taboo]]</i> (1912-13a). If we add that the [[psychic ]] [[position ]] necessary for any ritual is narcissistic, or animistic from the collective point of view, and that it presupposes the omnipotence of wishes and [[thoughts]], it becomes [[apparent ]] that the underlying [[obsession ]] in any ceremonial is that of the contagion of [[instinctual ]] impulses; this explains the prevalence of magical actions and thoughts having to do with contagion—by contiguity, similarity, [[isolation]], and [[retroactive ]] annulment.Throughout his writings Freud described and gave a detailed analysis of various rituals: scatological, [[money]]-related, rituals of washing, for going to [[sleep]], or for beginning something. Collective rituals such as those governing relations between son-in-law and [[mother]]-in-law, rituals relating to the [[dead]], to chiefs or enemies who have been killed, and rituals relating to defloration and [[marriage ]] have been extensively studied, in addition to the totemic meal and its [[repetition ]] in the [[Christian ]] sacrament of Communion, based on the idea of the [[murder ]] and consumption of the primal father of the [[horde]].Ceremonials, as compromise [[formations]], presuppose a repression, and the primary processes thus play a part in their creation. [[Displacement ]] and the [[condensation ]] of a [[multiplicity ]] of [[fantasies ]] in the ceremonial lead to [[overdetermination]]; an [[absence ]] of [[contradiction ]] that enables the ceremonial to actualize both [[wish ]] and defense. In addition, the abundance of [[symbolism ]] is unmistakable. From an economic point of view, the [[pleasure ]] [[principle ]] prevails, and Freud emphasized the [[sexual ]] [[excitation ]] that occurs during ceremonials. In <i>Inhibitions, [[Symptoms ]] and [[Anxiety]]</i> (1926d) Freud explained that from a [[topographical ]] and dynamic point of view, [[regression]], linked to powerful aggressive impulses, results in "the [[erotic ]] trends [[being ]] disguised" and that accordingly, "the struggle against sexuality will hence-forward be carried on under the banner of [[ethical ]] principles" (p. 116). The ego "recoils in astonishment" from suggestions of [[cruelty ]] emanating from the id, and "[t]he overstrict [[superego ]] insists all the more strongly on the [[suppression ]] of sexuality, since this has assumed such repellent forms" (p. 116). The theme of [[guilt ]] is omnipresent, which phenomenology alone reveals, as is the theme of [[punishment]]. There is thus continuity between ceremonials and taboos. Moreover, the persistence of [[unconscious ]] wishes and their fulfillment in ceremonials, no matter what the defenses have undertaken, provokes excessive scruples in their enactment and systematic doubt as to their propriety. The ceremonial's common [[compulsion ]] to [[repeat ]] seems to depend on the same factors.In <i>Inhibitions, Symptoms and Anxiety</i>, written in 1925, Freud lamented the fact that "no one has as yet collected [ceremonials] and systematically analysed [[them]]" (p. 116). With [[regard ]] to their emergence, often during the [[latency ]] period, he noted: "Why this should be so is at [[present ]] not at all clear; but the [[sublimation ]] of anal-erotic components plays an unmistakable part in it" (p. 116). Sublimation remains a lively issue in psychoanalysis. The [[compulsion to repeat]], as linked to the [[death ]] [[instinct ]] and to [[masochism]], is another. Lastly, the generalization of the obsession with touching or not touching, in our ostensibly secular [[culture]], seems more misunderstood than acknowledged. Thus, ceremonials, rites, and rituals are an area that awaits further study.

# [[Freud, Sigmund]]. (1912-13a). Totem and taboo. SE, 13: 1-161.