Pages

Saturday 24 November 2012

Entry: cathexis (n.)


In context: "In for instance an analytic model, the types of traumas of counterphobic reactions cover are almost always pre-Oedipal, at which stage objects' cathexis is Oedipal and symbolic."

Definition: The concentration or accumulation of mental energy in a particular channel.


Other: I would have bet I'd already covered this word.  The usage reminds me of several of the literary theory courses I took in grad school and my generally mixed feelings.  Anyways, here's an interesting etymology:

Etymology:  < Greek κάθεξις holding, retention; intended as a rendering of German (libido)besetzung (Freud).

SNOOT score: 2

Page: 550

Source: Oxford English Dictionary

No comments:

Post a Comment