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(1973). International Journal of Psycho-Analysis, 54:161-168

Secondary Revision, Secondary Elaboration and Ego Synthesis

Austin Silber

Freud (1900, p. 505) ascribes to secondary revision the first contribution on the part of waking thought to the construction of dreams. Thus Freud is indicating the central importance of what in present-day terminology we would call the ego's contribution to dream formation. In 'Totem and Taboo' (1913) Freud clearly introduces the concept of a synthetic function in his discussion of secondary revision:

The secondary revision of the product of the dream work is an admirable example of the nature and pretensions of a system. There is an intellectual function in us which demands unity, connection and intelligibility from any material, whether of perception or thought, that comes within its grasp; and if, as a result of special circumstances, it is unable to establish a true connection, it does not hesitate to fabricate a false one. Systems constructed in this way are known to us not only from dreams, but also from phobias, from obsessive thinking and from delusions (p. 95).

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