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Author Hartmann, Heinz, 1894-1970.

Title Ego psychology and the problem of adaptation / Heinz Hartmann ; translated by David Rapaport
Published New York : International Universities Press, [1958]

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Location Call no. Vol. Availability
 W'PONDS  154.22 Har  AVAILABLE
Description xi, 121 pages ; 23 cm
Series Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association.. Monograph series ; no. 1
American Psychoanalytic Association. Journal (Monograph series) ; no. 1
Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association. Monograph series ; no. 1
Summary One becomes aware of the tremendous impact of his theories when one finds that it was in this essay that concepts such as the undifferentiated phase, the conflict-free ego sphere, conflict-free ego development, and primary and secondary autonomy were developed for the first time. Hartmann discusses the role of endowment and of the inborn ego apparatuses and their adaptive nature. The idea that ego defenses may simultaneously serve the control of instinctual drives and the adaptation to the external world finds its expression in this essay. Hartmann's concept of adaptation is in no way restricted to the "cultural" sense of the term. It is a truly inclusive conception, and he views it as an ongoing process, which has its roots in the biological structure, and with many of its manifestations reflecting the constant attempts of the ego to balance intrasystemic and intersystemic tensions
The implications of his theory for the development of perception and thought processes, the concepts of ego strength, ego weakness, and of normality, are also discussed. Neutralization, and the impact of this construct on the concept of sublimation, evolves quite naturally from this paper. One sees in this work a systematic attempt to establish within the framework of a psychoanalytic ego psychology the groundwork for a theory of human behavior in general, normal as well as abnormal. The great sweep of Hartmann's exceptionally rich intellect has made it possible for him in this task to integrate the whole field of psychoanalytic knowledge with the related fields of biology, psychology, sociology, and philosophy. The opportunity to read this essay will reintroduce psychoanalysts to a cardinal requirement of the scientific method which Dr. Hartmann's work demonstrates, namely his unswerving insistence upon precision in methodology, and upon logical consistency of theory. With it all, the rarified atmosphere of theory is flavored by a humanistic tolerance and understanding, which is discernible in his discussions of rational and irrational behavior, automatism and mechanisms of integration"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Notes "'Ich--Psychologie und Anpassungsproblem' was first presented in 1937 before the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society and then published in German in 1939 in the Internationale Zeitschrift fur Psychoanalyse und Imago."
Bibliography Bibliography: pages 109-114
Notes Translation of: 'Ich-Psychologie und Anpassungsproblem'
Print version record
Subject Adaptability (Psychology)
Ego (Psychology)
Psychoanalysis.
Psychoanalysis.
LC no. 58013783