What is sublimation in psychoanalysis?

A summary of the different definitions given to sublimation in psychoanalysis.

One of the defense mechanisms of the psyche, proposed by psychoanalysis, is repression, which authors such as Freud related to psychopathology and great emotional discomfort and dysfunction.

However, Freud also proposed a mechanism that, similar to repression, consists in that instead of trying to silence our most basic instincts, it transforms them into something superior, socially accepted and that has a useful use for the rest of society: sublimation.

In this article we are going to talk about what sublimation is in psychoanalysis.What authors of the stature of Freud, Jung and Lacan think about it and how it has been related to the development of humanity.

The sublimation according to psychoanalysis

The idea of what is understood by sublimation within the field of psychoanalysis varies according to the author, although all of them are very solidly based on the concept given by Sigmund Freud of this idea. Even those who are critical of the Freudian idea of sublimation take it as an example.

In the following we will look in more depth at different positions on the concept, focusing above all on the one who postulated it, Sigmund Freud, although highlighting alternative views such as those of Lacan and Jung.

Freud's psychoanalysis

Within the most classical psychoanalytic theory, and from Sigmund Freud's mouth, sublimation ("Sublimierung" in German) is understood as the defense mechanism in which an impulse, whether sexual or not, but socially unacceptable, is transformed into something that, apparently, does not have into something that, apparently, does not have much to do with sexuality. In turn, the end result of the process is something that has a beneficial purpose for society as a whole, usually a product of a cultural, artistic, intellectual, scientific or sporting nature.

The erotic energy of the human being can be expressed, but within limits. If there is an excess of this energy and it is not socially acceptable to show it, the subject has two options: either sublimation or repression. If repressed, the sexual tension may incur in psychopathology according to the foundations of psychoanalysis itself.

Freud considered this mechanism to be much healthier compared to others, such as repression, denial or repression.such as repression, denial, intellectualization or projection. According to his daughter Anna Freud in her book "The Ego and the Defense Mechanisms" (1936), sublimation constitutes the highest defense mechanism of the psyche.

It should be noted that the main difference between sublimation and repression is that in this second defense mechanism there is a derivation and channeling of energy. On the other hand, in repression, the drive remains deeply repressed and is not channeled, which would give way to all the psychopathology proposed by Freud when it comes to repressing sexual energy.

This is what Freud states in his work Continuation of the Lessons of Introduction to Psychoanalysis (1932). Sublimation is nothing more than the modification of the end and change of the object, adapting it to what is socially acceptable.. It is a socially acceptable escape valve for the excess of sexual energy.

Freud defended the idea that most of the superior aspects of the human species, that is, culture and its derivatives, were the result of how the human being had self-imposed social norms that, by not allowing him to show himself sexually free but not opting for repression, he had to channel sexual energy and give it a more accepted use.

Culture, civilization, humanity is nothing more than the result of stifling sexual impulses.. Thus, for the Viennese psychoanalyst, culture was seen as an aspect radically contrary to the natural, although this was not necessarily a bad thing. Civilization was the result of human beings having repressed their most primal instincts throughout history, through a system of values that has become increasingly complex, penalizing sexuality more and more.

Freud believed that sublimation was a sign of the maturity of civilization. It was a mechanism to allow people to behave in a socially functional way, that is, without breaking cultural norms, which as a general rule used to treat sexuality as something unsuitable to be treated in public and its excess was seen as a problem..

In the face of such a sacrifice, far from being completely repressed or extinct, the sexual drive would have been harnessed and would have been the energy that would have allowed the creation of treasures of art, science, knowledge and human intellectual productions as a whole.

This is possible to see in areas in which sexuality is very restricted, as in the case of curators.This is the case of medieval priests, who had to comply with celibacy and, as they could not satisfy their sexual needs, they dedicated themselves to the writing of codices or the study of the Bible, besides being the group that practically monopolized culture during that time.

But although the most general definition refers to how the sexual drive must be channeled and transformed into something more socially desirable, it is true that Freud took into account that not always the original drive is something of a sexual nature.

He himself speaks about the case of a prestigious German surgeon, Johann Friedrich Dieffenbach, who in his childhood used to cut off the tails of dogs. This behavior, clearly sadistic but not sexual, is worrying, typical of a child who, when he grew up, we would not be surprised if he were a psychopath. However, in this particular case, he channeled it and transformed it into a more useful, socially acceptable purpose, being an outstanding surgeon, known for great advances in rhinoplastic and maxillofacial surgery.

Interpersonal psychoanalysis

From the hand of Harry Stack Sullivan, another well-known psychoanalyst although perhaps not of Freud's stature, comes what is known as interpersonal psychoanalysis. Within this psychoanalytic current, and defined by Sullivan, sublimation is understood to be an involuntary substitution that results in a partial satisfaction, but with broad social support, of something that, although it would give us great pleasure, society would not see it in a positive light. of something that, although it would give us great pleasure, society would not see it with good eyes.

This substitution may be something we don't really want, but it is the only way for us to have, however small, satisfaction without engaging in behavior that is very disruptive to the rest of society.

Sublimation according to Jung

Carl Gustav Jung considered sublimation to be something mystical coming from nature, which was significantly different from the point of sublimation.This was significantly different from the Freudian view, who gave it a rather detailed and, in a way, logical explanation of human behavior.

Freud, as we have already mentioned, considered that the concept of sublimation made it possible to understand how humanity had transformed sexual instincts into something non-sexual, with a different and substantially beneficial purpose for humanity as a whole.

Jung was critical of Freud's conception, since he considered that the Viennese psychoanalyst had tried to define it in a way that made it seem credible scientific. For Jung, sublimation is a process that is not as voluntary as Freud had originally claimed.. It was not the simple transformation of sexual impulse into something different because society did not want us to show ourselves to be sexually free. For the Swiss psychoanalyst, sublimation was something very mysterious, alchemical in nature.

Das Ding, sublimation and Lacan

Jacques Lacan relates the idea of sublimation to the concept of "Das Ding" ("The thing"). Das Ding is an abstract notion, and one of the defining characteristics of the human condition. He conceives of it as the emptiness we experience as human beings, which we attempt to fill through human relationships, objects and experiences. The problem is that all attempts to fill the emptiness implied by Das Ding are not enough to have full individual satisfaction.

Once the idea of Lacanian Das Ding is understood, it is possible to understand the concept of sublimation according to the French psychoanalyst's point of view. For him, sublimation, the fact that something morally unacceptable is transformed into a socially productive product, be it artistic, scientific or cultural, is done to reduce the subject's internal tension.

Science and religion are examples of how they are intended to fill the gap in the world., es decir, hay cosas que desconocemos, que queremos conocer más a fondo porque nos despierta incógnitas, y por ello buscamos, ya sea mediante explicaciones teológicas o mediante la investigación científica, respuestas.

Referencias bibliográficas:

• Sigmund Freud, 'Civilization and Its Discontents' (1930) in The Standard Edition Of The Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud – The Future of an Illusion, Civilization and its Discontents, and Other Works, trans. by James Strachey (Hogarth Press; London, 1961), vol. XXI, 79–80
• Anna Freud, The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence (Karnac Books, 2011), p. 44.
• Carl Jung, Letters, ed. By G. Adler and A. Jaffé (Princeton University Press; Princeton, 1974), vol. 1, 171,
• C. G. Jung, Dreams: (From Volumes 4, 8, 12, and 16 of the Collected Works of C. G. Jung), Princeton University Press (2012), p. 100.