The importance of not being Ernest
An archaeology of child’s play in Freud’s writings (and some implications for psychoanalytic theory and practice)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8972038 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Marie Lenormand (Maître de Conférences, Psychologie, Section 16, Aix-Marseille Université, Aix en Provence Cedex 1, France, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 100 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 52-76 |
| Publication date | 2019-01-02 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The International Journal of Psychoanalysis (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0020-7578 • E-ISSN: 1745-8315 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/00207578.2018.1489708 |
| PMID | 33945712 |
| OpenAlex | W2912095675 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 23 |
In psychoanalysis, the question of child's play owes its fame to child psychoanalysts. Before the emergence of child psychoanalysis, however, Sigmund Freud had evoked the question of child's play in his works many times. Surprisingly, his views on play remain generally underestimated - with the notable exception of the famous " fort-da " game that, by irresistibly attracting innumerable comments to itself, has come to overshadow, in the author's view, the whole Freudian conception of play. This paper therefore aims at archeologically re-examining this notion in the Freudian corpus. It intends to show that, far from being limited to an object of study as "interpreted," play is also called upon for what it offers heuristically as "interpreting," especially when Freud is faced with metapsychological obstacles. Two main strands of this theoretical conception of play are identified (a "deficit" and a "surplus" conception). The paper then highlights how the Freudian conception of play is intimately linked to his melancholy theory of the psyche and of culture. Finally, the paper changes tack in order to briefly suggest that this reconsideration of play might have psychoanalytic implications on two issues, namely the status of child's play in analysis and the more general question of interpretation
Epistemology · Freud's Psychoanalytic Theories · Freudian slip · Interpretation (philosophy · Object (grammar · Oedipus complex · Order (exchange · Psyche · Psychoanalysis · Psychoanalytic theory · Philosophy · Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research · Psychology · Psychology and Mental Health · Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
The interpretation of dreams.
Selected Writings. Volume 1
Writing and Difference
The Unconscious
Psychoanalysis and The Problem of Truth
A Contribution to the Theory of Play
Configurations in Play —Clinical Notes
Narrative Truth and Theoretical Truth
The Psychoanalytic Theory of Play
On authenticity
Winnicott and Derrida
The psychoanalytic play technique
Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious 1905
Homo ludens
The Psycho-Analysis of Children
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |