Cover -- Half-title -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- Figures -- Preface -- Introduction -- Part One Exegesis and Extraction -- 1 From disorder towards the focus of inquiry -- The problem of definition -- Perspective one: the broad to narrow continuum -- Limitations of perspective one -- Perspective two: 'conventional' versus 'non-conventional' symbols -- Sources of confusion and centres of dispute -- 2 The 'Freudian Narrow' (FN) theory of symbolism -- The post-Freudian climate -- Characteristics of the 'Freudian Narrow' (FN) position -- Critics' objections to the 'Freudian Narrow' (FN) position -- Response to Freud's critics -- 3 The 'symbol' in Freud's early writings (1893-1899) -- Symbolism in hysteria -- The 'symbol' as general substitute produced by displacement -- The supposed discontinuity between early and later uses of 'symbol' -- The foundations of continuity: a general conceptual schema -- Summary and conclusions -- 4 Continuation and elaboration (1900-1913) -- The steps in the convergence onto the FN position -- The Interpretation of Dreams -- A general overview -- Approaches to symbolism rejected by Freud -- Freud's alternative: continuation of earlier FB themes -- The writings from 1901 to 1908 -- Broad and narrow treatments of symbolism -- Conscious and unconscious symbolism -- Intimations of the FN position -- 1909: further expansion -- Continuation of earlier themes -- Symbolism as an isolated area of research -- Additions to The Interpretation of Dreams -- The years 1910 and 1911 -- Plans for collective study of symbolism -- Continuation of the familiar method -- Language and the 'idioticon' of the unconscious -- The third edition of The Interpretation of Dreams -- The second edition of 'On dreams' -- Other writings -- Freud versus Jung on symbolism -- The years 1912 and 1913 -- Continuation of earlier themes.

Symbolism as connecting religion, ritual and obsessive acts -- The return to language -- Summary and concluding remarks -- 5 The 'core years' for the FN theory (1914-1917) -- The Interpretation of Dreams -- Symbolism versus 'other forms of indirect representation' -- Individual variations -- The combination of the broad (metaphorical) and the narrow usage -- The history of the psychoanalytic movement -- The discovery of the importance of symbolism -- Freud 's rejection of Jung's approach -- Continuation of FB themes -- The Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis -- Lecture X: symbolism in dreams -- Additional support for FB themes from the remaining lectures -- The question of phylogenetic inheritance -- Summary and conclusions -- 6 The treatment of symbolism in Freud's later writings (1918-1940) -- The years 1918 and 1919 -- The Wolf Man and phylogenetic inheritance -- The Interpretation of Dreams -- The years 1920 to 1932 -- Continuations and repetition -- The archaic heritage revisited -- The years 1933 to 1940 -- The New Introductory Lectures -- Moses and Monotheism -- Final statements -- Conclusions -- Part Two Consolidation and Defence -- 7 The problem of the 'system unconscious' -- The qualitative ('systematic') view of unconscious mentality -- Implications for the concept of repression: the 'structural' approach -- Problems for the systematic unconscious and structural repression -- The unconscious is language -- The unconscious has its own 'logic' -- The unconscious consists of 'pre-propositional' mental states -- The relational ('epistemic') view of unconscious mentality -- Implications for the concept of repression: the 'dynamic' approach -- Clarifications and answers to criticisms -- The supposed failure of disguise -- Freud's 'illegitimate' parallel between conscious and unconscious processes.

Clarifying the 'characteristics' of unconscious thinking -- Implications for the distinction between primary and secondary processes -- Resolution of tensions in the treatment of repression -- Resolution of tensions in the treatment of symbolism -- Summary and conclusions -- 8 The problem of language -- Freud's reasons for focusing on language -- Exposure of the theory of symbolism to direct attack -- The obscuring of real distinctions -- (i) The distinction between conventional and non-conventional symbolism -- (ii) The relationship between language and thought -- (iii) The hermeneutic aspect of symbolism -- Clarifications and conclusions -- Allaying Freud's concerns -- The genuine role of language -- Implications for the theory of symbolism -- 9 Ernest Jones's contribution -- The assimilation of the FN position into 'true symbolism' -- The distinction between 'true symbolism' and 'metaphor' -- The difference between Jones's account and the FB theory -- Implications for post-Freudian psychoanalysts' criticisms of the FB theory -- The role of symbolism in ego-development -- The role of conscious processes in symbolism -- Replies to the criticisms -- Summary -- 10 The 'Freudian Broad' (FB) theory of symbolism -- The context: Freud's general theory -- Determinism -- Realism -- Psychobiological constants: instinctual drives and infantile dependence -- Socialisation: instinctual renunciation -- Sublimation and the origins of culture and values -- Compromise formations: the unconscious and the primary/derivative distinction -- The FB theory of symbolism -- Explanatory application -- 11 Symbolism: logical constraints and psychological requirements -- The logical constraints -- Symbolisation is three-term relation -- The chain of signification must be grounded in non-signifier -- A theory of symbolism must be psychological theory.

The (psychological) theory of symbolism cannot combine incompatible philosophical premises -- The psychological requirements -- The ontogenesis of symbols -- The selection of the symbolised -- Individual and universal symbols -- Variations in the tertium comparationis -- Conscious and unconscious elements -- Conclusion -- Epilogue -- References -- Index.