2024/01/19

cathexis 주의 집중 - 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전

주의 집중 - 위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전

주의 집중

위키백과, 우리 모두의 백과사전.

정신분석학에서 주의 집중(注意集中, cathexis)은 정신 에너지를 사람, 물체, 아이디어에 할당하는 과정으로 정의된다.[1][2]

프로이트는 주의 집중을 리비도의 할당으로 정의했으며 예를 들어 어떻게 몽상적 생각이 각기 다른 양의 정동으로 채워질 수 있는가를 지적하였다.[3] 주의 집중은 긍정적일 수도, 부정적일 수도 있다.[4]

같이 보기[편집]

각주[편집]

  1.  Laplanche, JeanPontalis, Jean-Bertrand (1988) [1973]. 〈Cathexis (pp. 62–5)〉《The Language of Psycho-analysis》 reprint, revis판. London: Karnac Books. ISBN 978-1-781-81026-2.
  2.  Hall, Calvin S. A Primer of Freudian Psychology. New York: Mentor, 1954.
  3.  Sigmund Freud, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (PFL 2) p. 49
  4.  Eric Berne, A Layman's Guide to Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis (1976) p. 54 and p. 70

===

Cathexis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In psychoanalysiscathexis (or emotional investment) is defined as the process of allocation of mental or emotional energy to a person, object, or idea.[1][2]

Origin of term[edit]

The Greek term cathexis (κάθεξις) was chosen by James Strachey to render the German term Besetzung in his translation of Sigmund Freud's complete works. Freud himself used the word "interest" in English in an early letter to Ernest Jones.[3][4]

Peter Gay objected that Strachey's use of cathexis was an unnecessarily esoteric replacement for Freud's use of Besetzung – "a word from common German speech rich in suggestive meanings, among them 'occupation' (by troops) and 'charge' (of electricity)",[4] though Gay is mistaken regarding his latter example.[A]

Usage[edit]

Freud defined cathexis as an allocation of libido, pointing out for example how dream thoughts were charged with different amounts of affect.[5] A cathexis or allocation of emotional charge might be positive or negative, leading some of his followers to speak of a cathexis of mortido as well.[6] Freud called a group of cathected ideas a complex.[7]

Freud frequently described the functioning of psychosexual energies in quasi-physical terms,[8][need quotation to verify] representing frustration of libidinal desires, for example, as a blockage of (cathected) energies which would eventually build up and require release in alternative ways. This release could occur, for example, by way of regression and the "re-cathecting" of former positions or fixations,[9] or the autoerotic enjoyment (in phantasy) of former sexual objects: "object-cathexes".

Freud used the term "anti-cathexis" or counter-charge[10] to describe how the ego blocks such regressive efforts to discharge one's cathexis: that is, when the ego wishes to repress such desires. Like a steam engine, the libido's cathexis then builds up until it finds alternative outlets, which can lead to sublimationreaction formation, or the construction of (sometimes disabling) symptoms.[11]

M. Scott Peck distinguishes between love and cathexis, with cathexis being the initial in-love phase of a relationship, and love being the ongoing commitment of care. Cathexis, to Peck, is distinguished from love by its dynamic element.

Object relations[edit]

Freud saw the early cathexis of objects with libidinal energy as a central aspect of human development.[12] In describing the withdrawal of cathexes which accompanied the mourning process, Freud provided his major contribution to the foundation of object relations theory.[13]

Thinking[edit]

Freud saw thinking as an experimental process involving minimal amounts of cathexis, "in the same way as a general shifts small figures about on a map".[14]

In delusions, it was the hypercathexis (or over-charging) of ideas previously dismissed as odd or eccentric which he saw as causing the subsequent pathology.[15]

Art[edit]

Eric Berne raised the possibility that child art often represented the intensity of cathexis invested in an object, rather than its objective form.[16]

Criticism[edit]

Critics charge that the term provides a potentially misleading neurophysiological analogy, which might be applicable to the cathexis of ideas but certainly not of objects.[1]

Further ambiguity in Freud's usage emerges in the contrast between cathexis as a measurable load of (undifferentiated) libido, and as a qualitatively distinct type of affect – as in a "cathexis of longing".[1]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Freud uses the expressions "Besetzung mit Energie" and "mit Energie besetzen" (with the noun "Besetzung" and the verb "besetzen") to refer to "allocation of energy" and "to allocate energy".

References[edit]

  1. Jump up to:a b c Laplanche, JeanPontalis, Jean-Bertrand (1988) [1973]. "Cathexis (pp. 62–5)"The Language of Psycho-analysis (reprint, revised ed.). London: Karnac Books. ISBN 978-1-781-81026-2.
  2. ^ Hall, Calvin S. A Primer of Freudian Psychology. New York: Mentor, 1954.
  3. ^ Jones, Ernest (1958). Sigmund Freud, Life and Work. Vol. 2. London: The Hogarth Press. pp. 69f. Quoted in: Nagera, Humberto, ed. (2014) [1970]. "Cathexis (pp. 77–96)"Basic Psychoanalytic Concepts on Metapsychology, Conflicts, Anxiety and Other SubjectsAbingdon-on-ThamesRoutledgeISBN 978-1-31767042-1.
  4. Jump up to:a b Gay, Peter (1989). Freud: A Life for Our Time. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 465n. ISBN 9780393072341.
  5. ^ Sigmund Freud, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (PFL 2) p. 49
  6. ^ Eric Berne, A Layman's Guide to Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis (1976) p. 54 and p. 70
  7. ^ Sigmund Freud, Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis (1995) p. 44
  8. ^ Sigmund Freud, Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (PFL 1) p. 337
  9. ^ Freud, New, pp. 123–4
  10. ^ Felluga, Dino. "Terms Used by Psychoanalysis." Introductory Guide to Critical Theory. Purdue U. 31 August 2009. (online)
  11. ^ Freud, New p. 123
  12. ^ Freud, New p. 118 and pp. 151–8
  13. ^ Neville SymingtonNarcissism: A New Theory (2003) p. x–xi
  14. ^ Freud, New p. 122
  15. ^ Sigmund Freud, On Psychopathology (PFL 10) p. 203
  16. ^ Berne, p. 63

External links[edit]

Practicing Urban Contemplation | Greg Richardson

Practicing Urban Contemplation | Greg Richardson

Practicing Urban Contemplation
LAST UPDATED ON: JANUARY 18, 2024 AT 4:51 AM
 JANUARY 18, 2024 BY GREG RICHARDSON

Urban Contemplation
Some of us apparently believe it is impossible to practice urban contemplation.

We assume we need to head out of town and away from other people to really practice contemplation. Do we need to travel into the country, to the mountains or the desert, into the woods or to the beach to be contemplative? Many of us are convinced we need to get as far as possible from other people to practice true contemplation.

Sometimes getting away from other people and our typical routines might help us listen to sacred stillness. We want to leave distractions behind and we feel the best way to do that is to physically leave.


I appreciate how attractive wild places can be. It takes me hours to drive to the monastery where I am an Oblate. While my trip begins in the city, I leave it behind and head up the Pacific coast to Big Sur.

It is easy for us to believe spiritual life lives in wild, remote places.

I believe, though, we are called to practice urban contemplation.

Our contemplative practices are not fragile. We do not need to protect them from other people.

It may seem more pleasant for us to practice contemplation in a bucolic setting, but it is not necessary. We can be just as contemplative in the city as we can in the country.

Urban contemplation is about not paying attention to what distracts us. We may feel more distracted downtown than we do in the country, but it is not necessarily the case.

When we close our eyes and take deep breaths, we can pay attention to sacred stillness in the city.

Most of what distracts me during my contemplative practices comes from within me, not from the city around me.

Practicing Urban Contemplation
I was not born contemplative, nor was I born in a large city.

I was taught from an early age it was more valuable to know things than to learn things. Learning was just a step on the path toward knowing while knowing was the goal of learning. It was far better to know the right answer than to be in the process of learning it. Learning means we have not yet arrived at knowing.

Knowing was also more fun than learning. Learning requires patience, practice, and being open to new insights. Learning means we try new things and make mistakes, which just reinforces we do not already know the right answer.


People do not do well in school by learning, they do well by knowing the right answers.

The significant thing about knowing the answer is we have successfully completed learning. We no longer need to be open to new ideas when we already know the answers.

Moving from place to place, for school and for work, I searched for answers.

Gradually I began to realize my answers were not always right. I came to appreciate asking good questions more than having the right answers.

My seeking drew me to larger cities and to monastic life. I was received as a lay Oblate at a Benedictine monastery and hermitage in Big Sur, California.

I follow a rule of life which includes spiritual practices like regular prayer, reading, stillness, and solitude. At least once each year I leave the city where I live to spend time at the monastery.

I recognize a balance of seeking spiritual life in the everyday. The life of the city draws me more deeply into contemplative life, which draws me more deeply into city life.

The challenge for me is becoming a contemplative in the city.

Beginning to Practice Contemplation
The pattern and structure of monastic life gives us a framework to practice urban contemplation.

Everyday life in the city has a rhythm which is different from monastic life at the hermitage. Our daily and weekly schedules are not the same. We incorporate contemplative practices into our lives in our own ways.

It is important for us to take time each day to listen to sacred stillness. Our approach to everyday life is shaped by how we choose to practice urban contemplation.


Practices shape how we perceive our experiences. Urban contemplation is about how we live the situations we experience. As we become more open to spiritual life within us and around us we perceive everyday life in new ways.

Practicing urban contemplation is not limited to sitting and listening to stillness on a bench in the park all day. When I walk in the city each day I see people differently.

Being contemplative in the city is not simply a matter of slowing down, though that helps our paying attention. We practice listening and being open to the life around us.

A Living Practice of Contemplation
There is no magic formula or set of rules for practicing urban contemplation. Some of us follow contemplative practices intended to help us take time to listen and pay attention. Our practices do not ensure we will live as contemplatives in the city.

Our first step might be taking time to set aside what distracts us. It is easy for us to get caught up in the entertainments and attractions which cities offer us. We pay so much attention to work and money, the expectations and other people which distract us. Some of us become so wrapped up in everyday life we are too exhausted to even think about anything else.

We are immersed in so many people and so many things to do we lose track of anything of real depth. It takes us so much effort to skim along the surface of life. Beginning to practice urban contemplation seems like more work than we can do.

The contemplative practices we choose to develop shape how we become contemplatives in the city.


Practicing urban contemplation means we pay attention to spiritual life within us and all around us wherever we find ourselves.

How will we begin practicing urban contemplation in a new way today?

When will we take time to practice urban contemplation this week?

[Image by judithjackson957]

Greg Richardson is a spiritual director in Southern California. He is a recovering assistant district attorney and associate university professor and is a lay Oblate with New Camaldoli Hermitage near Big Sur, California. Greg’s website is http://StrategicMonk.com and his email address is StrategicMonk@gmail.com.