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| − | The term '[[sublimation]]' (Fr. ''sublimation'') is one of the most familiar terms in the vocabulary of [[psychoanalysis]].
| + | {{Top}}sublimate|sublimation{{Bottom}} |
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| | + | =====Sigmund Freud===== |
| | + | In [[Freud]]'s [[work]], [[sublimation]] is a [[process]] in which the [[libido]] is channelled into apparently non-[[sexual]] activities such as artistic creation and [[intellectual]] work. [[Sublimation]] thus functions as a socially acceptable escape valve for [[excess]] sexual [[energy]] which would otherwise have to be [[discharged]] in socially unacceptable forms ([[perverse]] [[behavior]]) or in [[neurotic]] [[symptom]]s. The [[logical]] conclusion of such a view is that [[complete]] [[sublimation]] would mean the end of all [[perversion]] and all [[neurosis]]. However, many points remain unclear in [[Freud]]'s account of [[sublimation]]. |
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| − | '[[Sublimation]]' is one of the major concepts in [[psychoanalytic theory]].
| + | =====Jacques Lacan===== |
| | + | [[Lacan]]s takes up the [[concept]] of [[sublimation]] in his [[seminar]] of 1959-60. He follows [[Freud]] in emphasizing the fact that the element of [[social]] [[recognition]] is central to the concept, since it is only insofar as the [[drive]]s are diverted towards this [[dimension]] of shared social values that they can be said to be sublimated.<ref>{{S7}} p. 144</ref> It is this dimension of shared social values which allows [[Lacan]] to tie in the concept of [[sublimation]] with his [[discussion]] of [[ethics]].<ref>{{S7}} p. 144</ref> |
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| − | This concept was first articulated by [[Sigmund Freud]] as a [[defense mechanism]], that is, as an [[unconscious]] mental process in which (libidinal, instinctual, psychic, erotic energy) (the flow of) (the instinctual impulses of) (libido or sexual drive) is channelled, converted, transformed (diverted) into an apparently non-sexual activity, such as [[art|artistic creation]] and intellectual work, or redirected, diverted (from its immediate sexual aim and subordinates it to cultural endeavors) toward an apparently non-sexual aim or a socially valued [[object]], such as [[art|artistic creation]] and intellectual work, into creative and intellectual activity, into "socially useful" achievements (in a way congenial to the superego and its society).<ref>Freud 1933</ref>
| + | =====Differences - Freud and Lacan===== |
| | + | However, [[Lacan]]'s account of [[sublimation]] also differs from [[Freud]]'s on a [[number]] of points. |
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| − | For [[Freud]], [[sublimation]] involves the redirection of (excess sexual or erotic energy which would otherwise have to be discharged in socially unacceptable forms (perverse behaviour) or in neurotic symptoms) the [[drive]] (from its immediate sexual aim towards an apparently non-sexual aim or a socially valued [[object]]) to a different (non-sexual) [[object]].
| + | =====Perversion===== |
| | + | [[Freud]]'s account implies that [[perversion|perverse sexuality]] as a [[form]] of direct [[satisfaction]] of the [[drive]] is possible, and that [[sublimation]] is only necessary because this direct form in prohibited by [[society]]. |
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| − | Erotic energy is only allowed limited expression due to [[Psychological repression|repression]].
| + | [[Lacan]] however rejects the cocnept of a zero degree of satisfaction, arguing that [[perversion]] is not simply a brute [[natural]] means of discharging the [[libido]], but a highly [[structure]]d relation to the [[drive]]s which are already, in themselves, [[linguistic]] rather than [[biological]] forces. |
| − | [[Civilization]] has been able to place "social aims higher than the sexual ones."<ref>Introductory Lectures 16.345</ref> | |
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| − | [[Sigmund Freud]] never developed a coherent theory (or account) of [[sublimation]]. | + | Whereas [[Freud]] believed that complete [[sublimation]] might be possible for some particularly refined or cultured [[people]], [[Lacan]] argues that "complete sublimation is not possible for the [[individual]]."<ref>{{S7}} p.91</ref> |
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| − | # Freud's account implies that
| + | =====Object===== |
| − | According to Freud, [[perversion|perverse]] [[sexuality]] as a form of direct [[satisfaction]] of the [[drive]] is possible.
| + | In [[Freud]]'s account, [[sublimation]] involves the redirection of the [[drive]] to a different (non-sexual) object. In [[Lacan]]'s account, however, what changes is not the object but its [[position]] in the [[structure]] of [[fantasy]]. |
| − | According to Freud, [[sublimation]] is necessary because this direct (form of) [[satisfaction]] (of the [[drive]]) is [[prohibition|prohibited]] by [[society]].
| |
| − | Freud believed that complete [[sublimation]] might be possible for some particularly refined or [[culture]]d people
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| | | | |
| − | [[Jacques Lacan]] expands upon [[Freud]]'s account of [[sublimation]]. | + | In [[other]] [[words]], [[sublimation]] does not involve directing the [[drive]] to a different [[object]], but rather changing the [[nature]] of the [[object]] to which the [[drive]] was already directed, a "[[change]] of object in itself," something which is made possible because the [[drive]] is "already deeply marked by the articulation of the [[signifier]]."<ref>{{S7}} p. 293</ref> |
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| − | Lacan conceives of [[perversion]] in a highly structured relation to the [[drive]]s which are already, in themselves, [[linguistic]] rather than [[biology|biological forces]].<ref>see Zizek, 1991: 83-4)</ref>
| + | The [[sublime]] quality of an [[object]] is thus not due to any intrinsic property of the [[object]] itself, but simply an effect of the [[object]]'s position in the [[symbolic]] [[structure]] of [[fantasy]]. |
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| − | Lacan argues that "complete sublimation is not possible for the individual."<ref>S7, 91</ref> | + | =====Death Drive===== |
| | + | While [[Lacan]] follows [[Freud]] in linking [[sublimation]] with [[creativity]] and [[art]], he complicates this by also linking it with the [[death drive]].<ref>{{S4}} p.431</ref> |
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| − | For [[Lacan]], [[sublimation]] involves (rather than directing the drive to a different object) changing the (position of the object in the structure of fantasy) nature of the object to which the drive was already directed, a "change of object in itself," something which is made possible because the drive is "already deeply marked by the articulation of the signifier."<ref>S7, 293</ref>
| + | Several reasons can be adduced to explain this. |
| − | | + | # Firstly, the concept of the [[death drive]] is itself seen as a product of [[Freud]]'s own [[sublimation."<ref>{{S7}} p.212</ref> |
| − | The [[sublime]] quality of an [[object]] is thus not due to any intrinsic property of the object itself, but simply an effect of the object's position in the [[symbolic]] [[structure]] of [[fantasy]].
| + | # Secondly, the [[death drive]] is not only a "[[destruction]] drive," but also "a will to crate from zero."<ref>{{S7}} p.212-3</ref> |
| − | [[Sublimation]] relocates an object in the position of the [[thing]].
| + | # Thirdly, the [[sublime object]], through [[being]] elevated to the dignity of the [[Thing]], exerts a [[power]] of [[fascination]] which leads ultimately to [[death]] and destruction. |
| − | The Lacanian formula for sublimation is thus that "it raises an object ... to the [[dignity of the Thing]]."<ref>S7, l 12</ref>
| |
| − | | |
| − | # Lacan (following Freud) associates [[sublimation]] with [[creativity]] and [[art]], but also links it with the [[death drive]].<ref>S4, 431</ref>
| |
| − | ## Firstly, the concept of the [[death drive]] is itself seen as a product of Freud's own [[sublimation]].<ref>S7, 212</ref>
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| − | ## Secondly, the death drive is not only a "destruction drive," but also a "will to create from zero."<ref>S7, 212-13</ref>
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| − | ## Thirdly, the [[sublime object]], through being elevated to the [[dignity of the Thing]], exerts a power of fascination which leads ultimately to [[death]] and destruction.
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| − | | |
| − | ==Sublimation and Freud==
| |
| − | [[Sigmund Freud]] never developed a coherent theory (or account) of [[sublimation]].
| |
| − | | |
| − | [[Sublimation]] is a term widely used in [[psychoanalytic theory]] to describe the [[process]] in which the [[libido]] [[sexuality|sexual]] [[drive]] (psychic or erotic energy) is channelled, converted, transformed into an apparently non-sexual activity, such as [[art|artistic creation]] and intellectual work, or redirected, diverted toward an apparently non-sexual aim or a socially valued [[object]], such as [[art|artistic creation]] and intellectual work, into creative and intellectual activity, into "socially useful" achievements.<ref>Freud 1933</ref>
| |
| − | | |
| − | [[Sublimation]] is a type of [[coping|coping mechanism]] or [[defense mechanism]], which functions as a socially acceptable escape valve for excess sexual or erotic energy which would otherwise have to be discharged in socially unacceptable forms (perverse behaviour) or in neurotic symptoms.
| |
| − | Erotic energy is only allowed limited expression due to [[Psychological repression|repression]].
| |
| − | | |
| − | The logical conclusion of such a view is that complete sublimation would mean the end of all perversion and all neurosis.
| |
| − | [[Civilization]] has been able to place "social aims higher than the sexual ones."<ref>Introductory Lectures 16.345</ref>
| |
| − | | |
| − | ===Sublimation and Art===
| |
| − | This usage appears to be influenced by the aesthetics of the sublime.
| |
| − | In his study of Leonardo da Vinci, Freud uses 'sublimation' in this sense to describe the transformation of theyoung Leonardo's sexual curiosity into a spirit of intellectual inquiry.<ref>1910a</ref>
| |
| − | Whilst this produced great works of art, the sublimation of [[libido]] into a general urge to know meant that a small quota of Leonardo's sexual ennergy was directe dtowards sexual aims, and resulted in a stunted adult sexuality.
| |
| − | Elsewhere Frud suggests tht a mature woman's capacity to pursue an intellectual profession may be a sublimated expression of her childhood desire to acquire a penis.
| |
| − | | |
| − | ==Sublimation and Lacan==
| |
| − | Lacan's account of sublimation differs from Freud's on a number of points.
| |
| − | | |
| − | # Freud argues that [[sublimation]] is only necessary because this direct [[satisfaction]] of the [[drive]] (although theoretically possible) is [[prohibition|prohibited]] by [[society]].
| |
| − | | |
| − | # Freud's account implies that [[perversion|perverse]] [[sexuality]] as a form of direct [[satisfaction]] of the [[drive]] is possible, and that [[sublimation]] is only necessary because this direct form is [[prohibition|prohibited]] by [[society]].
| |
| − | Lacan conceives of [[perversion]] in a highly structured relation to the [[drive]]s which are already, in themselves, [[linguistic]] rather than [[biology|biological forces]].<ref>see Zizek, 1991: 83-4)</ref>
| |
| − | | |
| − | # Whereas Freud believed that complete [[sublimation]] might be possible for some particularly refined or [[culture]]d people, Lacan argues that "complete sublimation is not possible for the individual."<ref>S7, 91</ref>
| |
| − | This is not to say that the "free mobility of the libido" (Introductory Lectures 16.346) is ever fully contained: "sublimation is never able to deal with more than a certain fraction of libido."<ref>Introductory Lectures 16.346</ref>
| |
| − | | |
| − | # In Freud's account, [[sublimation]] involves the redirection of the [[drive]] to a different (non-sexual) [[object]].
| |
| − | In Lacan's account, [[sublimation]] does not involve directing the drive to a different object, but rather changing the (position of the object in the structure of fantasy) nature of the object to which the drive was already directed, a "change of object in itself," something which is made possible because the drive is "already deeply marked by the articulation of the signifier."<ref>S7, 293</ref>
| |
| − | The [[sublime]] quality of an [[object]] is thus not due to any intrinsic property of the object itself, but simply an effect of the object's position in the [[symbolic]] [[structure]] of [[fantasy]].
| |
| − | Sublimation relocates an object in the position of the [[thing]].
| |
| − | The Lacanian formula for sublimation is thus that "it raises an object ... to the [[dignity of the Thing]]."<ref>S7, l 12</ref>
| |
| − | | |
| − | # Lacan (following Freud) associates [[sublimation]] with [[creativity]] and [[art]], but also links it with the [[death drive]].<ref>S4, 431</ref>
| |
| − | ## Firstly, the concept of the [[death drive]] is itself seen as a product of Freud's own [[sublimation]].<ref>S7, 212</ref>
| |
| − | ## Secondly, the death drive is not only a "destruction drive," but also a "will to create from zero."<ref>S7, 212-13</ref>
| |
| − | ## Thirdly, the [[sublime object]], through being elevated to the [[dignity of the Thing]], exerts a power of fascination which leads ultimately to [[death]] and destruction.
| |
| − | | |
| − | ==Sublimation and Ethics==
| |
| − | In his 1959-60 [[seminar]], ''[[The Ethics of Psychoanalysis]],'' [[Jacques Lacan]] emphasizes the element of [[social recognition]] as central to the concept, and reflects upon the dimension of shared social values (towards which the sublimated drives are diverted) in his discussion of ethics.<ref>[[Jacques Lacan|Lacan, Jacques]]. [[The Ethics of Psychoanalysis]]. p. 107, 144</ref>
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| − | | |
| − | The unresolved complexity of the notion of sublimation means, however, that the term designates a set of questions rather than a well-circumscribed concept (Laplanche, 1980).
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| − | to exchange an originally sexual aim for another,
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| − | | |
| − | As for the effect of sublimation on the object it valorizes in the eyes of society, Freud took great care to discourage any risk of confusion between sublimation and idealization, the latter implying an overestimation of the supposedly "sublime" object (1914c).
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| − | | |
| − | The development of the ability to sublimate ("Fähigkeit zur Sublimierung") was related for Freud both to the individual's constitutional disposition (the initial strength of the sexual instinct) and to the events of childhood (the link between trauma and the intensity of infantile curiosity; cf., the case of Leonardo da Vinci being a good example).
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| − | | |
| − | Sublimation occurred at the expense of the polymorphously perverse drives of childhood (especially bisexuality), which were diverted and applied to other aims, as witness the sublimation of anal eroticism into an interest in money, or the link between urethral eroticism and ambition.
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| − | | |
| − | This process contributed to the formation of character traits.
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| − | | |
| − | The component instincts were of particular significance here: the instinct to see could be sublimated into artistic contemplation and into the instinct to know (1910c), while sublimated aggression could manifest itself as creative and innovative activity.
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| − | | |
| − | But Freud always emphasized the risks associated with sublimation of the instincts when it takes place at the expense of the sexual and deprives the subject of immediate satisfaction.
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| − | Although sublimation appears as the guarantor of the social bond and promoter of culture, it is, nonetheless, a dangerous demand, a "ruse of civilization" (Mellor-Picaut, 1979) when it presents individual sublimations as ideal models.
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| − | | |
| − | For Freud, sublimation is not the core of an axiological approach to psychoanalysis, and the introduction of narcissism represented an important turning point in his theory.
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| − | Sublimation took place "through the mediation of the ego, which begins by changing sexual object-libido into narcissistic libido, and then perhaps goes on to give it a different aim" (1923b, p. 30).
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| − | Sublimation no longer occurs at the expense of the object-libido but offers the narcissistic libido a needed extension.
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| − | | |
| − | However, it does not protect the individual, who is left at the mercy of the death instinct.
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| − | | |
| − | Freud was against making sublimation a privileged goal of the treatment, one that could even be advocated by the analyst (1915a [1914]).
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| − | | |
| − | In this, he disagreed with Carl G. Jung (1914d), as well as Lou Andreas-Salomé, whom he had also accused of "blab-bering about the ideal" in his letters to Jung (January 10, 1912), James J. Putnam (May 4, 1911), and Oskar Pfister (October 9, 1918).
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| − | | |
| − | In all these cases he was struggling against the temptation of an anagogic approach to psychoanalysis.
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| − | | |
| − | It may be assumed that this threat of having such a complex concept corrupted contributed to the fact that it has never been thoroughly developed.
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| − | | |
| − | One thinks in particular of an unpublished draft on sublimation written for Freud's projected book on metapsychology.
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| − | | |
| − | The concept of sublimation has been discussed by many of Freud's followers, though without any significant contributions being made to metapsychology.
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| − | | |
| − | In later years Melanie Klein became one of the most important commentators on sublimation, primarily in connection with epistemophilia.
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| − | | |
| − | In France, Daniel Lagache (1962) and Jean Laplanche (1980) have both written essays on sublimation.
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| − | | |
| − | Sublimation, which is often mentioned in the literature, by emphasizing the desexualization of goals and the social valorization of the object, remains both an essential concept and an unresolved question for psychoanalysis.
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| − | | |
| − | ===Sublimation and Art===
| |
| − | In his study of Leonardo da Vinci, Freud uses 'sublimation' in this sense to describe the transformation of theyoung Leonardo's sexual curiosity into a spirit of intellectual inquiry.<ref>1910a</ref>
| |
| − | | |
| − | Whilst this produced great works of art, the sublimation of [[libido]] into a general urge to know meant that a small quota of Leonardo's sexual ennergy was directe dtowards sexual aims, and resulted in a stunted adult sexuality.
| |
| − | | |
| − | Elsewhere Frud suggests tht a mature woman's capacity to pursue an intellectual profession may be a sublimated expression of her childhood desire to acquire a penis.
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| | ==See Also== | | ==See Also== |
| − | * [[Sublime Object]]
| + | {{See}} |
| | * [[Art]] | | * [[Art]] |
| − | * [[libido]] | + | * [[Death drive]] |
| − | * [[drive]] | + | || |
| − | * [[death drive]] | + | * [[Drive]] |
| − | * [[The Ethics of Psychoanalysis]] | + | * [[Ethics]] |
| − | | + | || |
| − | See also: Anality; Analytic psychology; Anthropology and psychoanalysis; Applied psychoanalysis and the interactions of psychoanalysis; Character; Civilization (Kultur); Defense; Depressive position; Desexualization; Drive; Ego; Ego autonomy; Ego and the Id, The; Ego and the Mechanisms of Defense, The; Eroticism, anal; Eroticism, urethral; Friendship; Group psychology; ; Idealization; Identification with the aggressor; Ideology; Intellectualization; Knowledge (instinct for); Latency period; Law of the Father; Leonardo da Vinci and a Memory of his Childhood; Pleasure ego/reality ego; Pleasure of thinking; Psychic apparatus; Reaction formation; Reciprocal paths of influence (libidinal coexcitation); Reparation; Repetition; Rite and ritual; Science and psychoanalysis; Sexuality; Superego; Symbol; Symbolization, process of; Thought; Work (as a psychoanalytic concept); Working-off mechanisms.
| + | * [[Fantasy]] |
| | + | * [[Libido]] |
| | + | || |
| | + | * [[Structure]] |
| | + | * [[Thing]] |
| | + | {{Also}} |
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| | == References == | | == References == |
| | + | <div style="font-size:11px" class="references-small"> |
| | <references/> | | <references/> |
| − | * Freud. Sigmund. (1908d). "Civilized" sexual morality and modern nervous illness. SE, 9: 177-204.
| + | </div> |
| − | * ——. (1910c). Leonardo da Vinci and a memory of his childhood. SE, 11: 57-137.
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| − | * ——. (1915a [1914]). Observations on transference love. (Further recommendations on the technique of psychoanalysis III). SE, 12: 157-171.
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| − | * ——. (1914d). On the history of the psycho-analytic movement. SE, 14: 1-66.
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| − | * ——. (1930a [1929]). Civilization and its discontents. SE, 21: 57-145.
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| − | * ——. (1923b). The ego and the id. SE, 19: 1-66.
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| − | * [[Seminar XI]] sublimation, 11, 165
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| | + | [[Category:Freudian psychology]] |
| | + | [[Category:Psychoanalysis]] |
| | [[Category:Jacques Lacan]] | | [[Category:Jacques Lacan]] |
| | + | [[Category:Dictionary]] |
| | + | [[Category:Concepts]] |
| | + | [[Category:Culture]] |
| | [[Category:Terms]] | | [[Category:Terms]] |
| − | [[Category:Concepts]]
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| − | [[Category:Psychoanalysis]]
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| − | [[Category:Dictionary]]
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| | [[Category:New]] | | [[Category:New]] |
| − | [[Category:Freudian psychology]]
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| | [[Category:Art]] | | [[Category:Art]] |
| − | [[Category:Culture]]
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| − | ==See Also==
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| − | * [[Sublime Object]]
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| − | * [[Art]]
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| − | * [[libido]]
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| − | * [[drive]]
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| − | * [[death drive]]
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| − | * [[The Ethics of Psychoanalysis]]
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| − | == References ==
| + | __NOTOC__ |
| − | <references/>
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| − | [[Category:Lacan]]
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| − | [[Category:Terms]]
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| − | [[Category:Concepts]]
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| − | [[Category:Psychoanalysis]]
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| − | [[Category:Freudian psychology]]
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| − | [[Category:Art]]
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| − | [[Category:Culture]]
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