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Abstract:
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The law of conservation of energy, the most important 19th century innovation in physics had an impact also on psychology. Sigmund Freud was among those who transferred the physical concept of energy to psychology. The relation to physics was often mentioned, but not discussed in detail. The essay should contribute to a better understanding of the genesis and meaning of Freudian energetic terms. After a brief introduction to the history and significance of the principle of conservation of energy in physics, we will examine how Freud made acquaintance with it as a student. Freud’s references to the physical concept of energy date mainly from 1898 on. They can be seen especially in relation to Hermann v. Helmholtz’s Popular Scientific Lectures. The basic idea transferred from physics to psychology is: There is a quantity (»psychische Energie«,» Libido«, »Triebkraft«) that can be used for qualitatively different purposes. Freud coupled this principle with something quite different in terms of origin and theoretical character: with the principle of constancy, an extrapolation of Gustav T. Fechner’s teleological principle of the tendency toward stability. Similar to the concept of energy in physics, the concept of energy has a unifying function in Freud’s theory: it connects qualitativelydifferent psychical acts and – thereby crossing boundaries – psychical with physical acts and causality with teleology.
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