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[[Condensation]] is an essential aspect of the workings of the [[unconscious]] and especially of [[Dream Work|dream-work]], as described by [[psychoanalysis]].
[[Condensation ]], along with [[displacement]], is one of the methods by which the repressed returns an essential [[process]] in hidden ways. For example, in dreams multiple [[Dream Work|dream-thoughts are often combined work]] and amalgamated into a single element of the manifest dream (e.g. symbols). According to Freud, every situation in a dream seems to be put together out of two or more impressions or experiences. One need only think about how people and places tend to meld into composite figures in our dreams. The same sort of condensation can occur generally in symptom[[primary process|primary-formation. The other method whereby the repressed hides itself is displacementprocess]] [[thinking]].
For example, in [[dream]]s multiple dream-[[thoughts]] are often combined and amalgamated into a single element of the [[manifest]] dream (e.g. [[symbol]]s).
According to [[Freud]], every [[situation]] in a [[dream]] seems to be put together out of two or more impressions or experiences. One [[need]] only [[think]] [[about]] how [[people]] and places tend to meld into composite [[figures]] in our [[dreams]]. The same sort of [[condensation]] can occur in [[symptom-formation]]. The [[other]] method whereby the [[repression|repressed]] hides itself is [[displacement]]. ==More==In a [[dream]], a single [[idea]] or [[image]] may [[represent]] the nodal point at which a [[number]] of chains of [[associations]] or [[ideas]] intersect, and can thus be a [[condensation]] of both their multiple [[unconscious]] [[meaning]] and their quota of [[affect]] or [[emotion]]al charge. ==More==The [[mechanism]] of [[condensation]] explains why the [[manifest content]] of a [[dream]] is often so laconic or [[fragmentation|fragmentary]]: it is an abridged [[translation]] of the [[latent content]]. The second basis mechanism of the [[Dream Work|dream-work]] is [[displacement]]. Both mechanisms can be observed in other [[unconscious]] [[formations]], and notably in [[symptom]]s of [[hysteria]] and [[neurosis]]; they are also important features of [[jokes]]. Following [[Jakobson]], [[Lacan]] likes [[condensation]] and [[displacement]] to the [[linguistics|linguistic]] mechanisms of [[metaphor]] and [[metonymy]]. ==More==We tend to view it as a way of attributing, to a person or [[representative]] [[object]], characteristics and properties that, from the point of view of latent thoughts, belong to other persons or [[objects]]. In [[reality]], if we go by Freud's [[text]] in ''[[The Interpretation of Dreams]]'',<ref>1900a</ref> [[condensation]], like [[displacement]], does not proceed directly by modifying the [[content]] of a [[representation]]. All [[dream]]s are made up of [[latent]] dream thoughts, each of which corresponds to one or several chains of associations, with each link [[being]] initially charged with a [[psychic]] intensity. [[Dream Work|Dream work]] consists in changing the location of these fragmentary intensities without either increasing or reducing their [[global]] [[value]]. ==More==In [[displacement]], one assigns to link A in a [[chain]] of associations the intensity initially associated with link B. [[Condensation]], in contrast, operates by bringing intensities together. When two chains of [[association]] intersect, it assigns to the common link the sum of the intensities of the two intersecting chains. This nevertheless indirectly alters the [[representation]] because, in the [[manifest content]] of the [[dream]], a link will not [[figure]] if it does not retain an intensity. By displacing the intensities of several chains to their common link, [[condensation]] makes it possible to represent all of the chains by a single link. Hence, there is an [[economy]] of means that contributes to [[censorship]]. As a result, when one link takes the [[place]] of several chains, this makes it more difficult to read through to the wish corresponding to those chains. ==More==[[Condensation]] thus has an indirect effect on the figural content of representations. It does not create chimeras that bring together in one element the attributes of [[others]]. Nor does it engage in [[metonymy]], in which one of the [[links]] represents one or several chains of association. It is a process that operates by displacing intensity, but when the intensity of several chains is brought to bear on their common link, [[condensation]] seeks to represent [[them]] all. ==More==When explaining the effect of condensation, [[Freud]] used the [[metaphor]] of italics. A representative link whose intensity has been reinforced by condensation has a status comparable to that of a [[word]] in italics in a text. This metaphor calls for two remarks. First, the intensity added to a fragment of a [[representation]] through condensation makes it possible, like italics, to stress the importance of the representation. This added intensity indicates at the manifest level that the representation stands for the different latent chains intersecting at the link. Second, typographical emphasis warps the [[texture]] of a text and invites us to look for links other than those offered by successive statements. Typographical emphasis is an invitation to abandon linearity and [[search]] for the dreamer's associations. ==More==The [[notion]] of intensity is [[complex]]. The term indicates the psychic interest of a [[particular]] idea. But we may well ask whether this interest should not be extended to the affect associated with each chain of associations or the [[instinct]] that determines each association. ==More==Although [[Freud]] studied [[condensation]] particularly in relation to [[dream]]s, especially in ''[[The Interpretation of Dreams]]'', he also describes the effect of this process in other manifestations of [[primary process|primary-process]] thinking, such as [[jokes]], [[forgetting]] names, [[slips of the tongue]], and [[symptom]]s. In these latter domains, however, it is sometimes quite difficult to distinguish between [[condensation]] and [[overdetermination]]. In both cases, as the result of a transformation, a representation substitutes for more elaborate [[thought]] content. Both [[processes]] seem to proceed by increasing intensity, that is, by [[economic]] modification, and this results in the reorganization of the thought content. But whereas condensation can be viewed as a sum of intensities relative to forces acting in the same direction, overdetermination appears more as an appropriation of content by [[heterogeneity|heterogeneous]] if not [[antagonism|antagonistic forces]]. ==More==In fact, the content of an overdetermined representation [[acts]] as a fulcrum for opposing logics and conflicting systems (such as the [[preconscious]] and the [[unconscious]]). A [[thought content]] (or [[representation]]) resulting from the interaction of forces pushing for the fulfillment of an [[unconscious]] [[wish]] and forces opposing it (the [[censorship|censor]]) is a [[good]] example of [[overdetermination]] but not of [[condensation]], since the [[censor]] is not part of the [[Latent Dream Thoughts|latent dream thoughts]]. However, as soon as the signifying element begins to represent [[conflict]] (as in the [[case]] of a [[symptom]]), the [[difference]] between condensation and overdetermination is more difficult to establish. ==See Also==* [[Dream]]* [[Dream work]]* [[Identification]]* [[Jokes]]* [[Metaphor]]* [[Primary process]]* [[secondary process]]* [[Representability]]* [[Slips of the tongue]]* [[Unconscious formations]]* [[Unconscious]]* [[Work]] == References ==
<references/>
# [[Freud, Sigmund]]. (1900a). The [[interpretation]] of dreams. SE, 4: 1-338; 5: 339-625.
# ——. (1905c). [[Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious|Jokes and their relation to the unconscious]]. SE, 8: 1-236.
# ——. (1916-1917a [1915-17]). Introductory lectures on [[psycho]]-[[analysis]]. SE, 15: 9-239; 16: 243-463.
# PAGE 43 [[Homer|HOMER]], CONDENSATION (71) CD
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