1. Mind being characterized by multiple, discontinuous, centers of consciousness.
What
Itzkowitz (2015) has in his mind with this “mind being characterized by
multiple, discontinuous, centers of consciousness” can be considered as the one
observed in people with dissociative identity disorder (DID). In psychoanalytic
literature, repression or splitting have been traditionally the terms
describing what has been considered the splitting of the mind, without any connotation
of multiple presence of consciousnesses. However, historically, polypsychism and
double consciousness have been discussed in the history of dynamic psychiatry (Ellenberger,
1970). It is well known that Freud acknowledged the idea of the “double
consciousness” and discussed its three types in the “Studies of Hysteria” (1895)
with Breuer (Brenner, 2016). Elizabeth Howell outlined four different models of
thinking about dissociation which Freud adopted in the course of his work. She
then concluded that it was only in the
Preliminary Communication (1893) that dissociation in the sense of splitting of
consciousness (dissociationism 1 in Howell’s term) was discussed. Since that
time, Freud only used this notion in the sense of The
splitting of the ego in the process of Defence (Freud, 1938,1961)（corresponding to dissociationism 2~4 in Howell’s term.）
It is noteworthy, however, that Freud himself
did not really forget this state of “double consciousness” which he revealed
later in his work.
Depersonalization leads us
on to the extraordinary condition of “double conscience”, which is more
correctly described as “split personality.” But all of this is so obscure and
has been so little mastered scientifically that I must refrain from talking
about it anymore to you. (Freud, 1936, p.245)
Brenner, I. (2016) Psychoactive therapy of dissociative
Identity Disorder. Multiphasic model. (in)
Howell & Itzkowitz (ed). The dissociative mind in Psychoanalysis. P211
Freud, S (1936) New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis and Other Works
Freud, S (1938) The splitting of the ego in the process
of Defence. S.E. XXIII.
