title: The reality principle, tragic knots, and the analytic process.
abstract: Civilization and Its Discontents is shown to occupy a special place in Freud's development of psychoanalytic theory and technique. Especially emphasized is its implications for an inclusive understanding of the reality principle. The concept tragic knots is then defined and used to emphasize Freud's readiness to include tragic elements in that principle. An extended section then illustrates the spread of tragic knots into several diverse aspects of human existence: victimization, intimacy, and maintaining privacy. Finally, implications are drawn for the clinical assessment of working through unconscious conflicts.
authors.affiliation: Columbia University Center for Psychoanalytic Training and Research, USA. royschafer@mindspring.com
authors.forename: Roy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schafer
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology; D005201:Fantasy; D005619:Freudian Theory; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008016:Life Change Events; D010553:Personality Development; D018907:Privacy; D011573:Psychoanalytic Interpretation; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D011936:Reality Testing; D014473:Unconscious, Psychology