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Kelley Gaffney
PHIL.204
3/13/16
According to Freud in The Unconscious the difference between
transference neuroses (anxiety-hysteria) and narcissistic neurosis
(schizophrenia) lies in the relation between the unconscious idea and
the conscious idea. This is because an anxiety-hysterics true cause of
anxiety remains in the unconscious mind. It is reflected onto a
conscious object and thus that object begins to cause the person
constant anxiety. The hysteric cannot vocalize what truly causes their
anxiety because it is still in the unconscious. While with a
schizophrenic their cause of anxiety is in the conscious mind. This is
because they are able to talk about their problem meaning that they
can think about it. Although it is not the exact problem it usually
resembles the problem and it must be determined through
associations. Thus these differences between transference neuroses
and narcissistic neuroses allow Freud to distinguish between the
unconscious idea and the conscious idea by the behavior of those with
the mental illnesses. This is done in more detail by addressing
repression, the two hypotheses that Freud presents, and the specific
analysis of the neuroses.

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First, to understand the difference between unconscious idea and
conscious idea within anxiety-hysteria and schizophrenia repression
must be addressed. Repression is the cause of both of these neuroses.
Psychoanalysis has taught us that the essence of the process of
repression lies, not in abrogating a representational idea of the drive,
or in annihilating it, but rather in withholding it from consciousness
(Freud, 116). This quote demonstrates that repression is not the
annihilation of the idea but the pushing back of it. Repression causes
the idea to become part of the unconscious. The problem is caused
when these ideas attempt to enter into the consciousness. It is
because of the concept of repression that we must ask the question, if
the unconscious idea is repressed, then how do we acquire knowledge
of the unconscious? The answer is that through the translation of the
unconscious idea to a conscious idea. Thus it goes from an image or
idea to being able to put it into words. This is how we are able to
determine what is being repressed. The use of talking is why a
schizophrenic is said to have these repressed ideas in the conscious
mind since they are able to talk about them while an anxiety-hysterics
repressed ideas are in the unconscious since they are unable to talk
about what causes them anxiety and instead run away.
These repressed ideas and the unconscious mind is seen as both
necessary and legitimate to Freud. They are necessary because
both in healthy and in sick persons mental acts are often in process

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which can be explained only by presupposing other acts, of which
consciousness yields no evidence. These include not only the
parapraxes and dreams of healthy persons, and everything designated
a mental symptom or an obsession in the sick (Freud, 117). We
must have the unconscious system so we are able to explain certain
behaviors in healthy people and why some people are sick. The
existence of the unconscious is also proven through the existence of
latent memories, those memories that are not currently in the
consciousness and are hidden from us but can be recovered at
anytime. This gives proof to that there is an unconscious since that is
where these latent memories would reside. many of these latent
states we have to assert that the only point in which they differ from
states which are conscious is just in the lack of consciousness of them
(Freud, 118). The unconscious is legitimate because even when we
assume its existence we do not stray from our normal ways of thinking.
In psychoanalysis there is no choice for us but to declare certain
mental processes to be in themselves unconscious, and to compare
the perception of them by consciousness with the perception of the
outside world through the sense-organs; we even hope to extract some
fresh knowledge from the comparison (Freud, 121). In psychoanalysis
we cannot put the conscious perception, which is a subjective one in
the place of the unconscious perception, which is its object. Kant

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creates an analogy created between knowledge we have of the
unconscious and the knowledge we have of external objects.
Furthermore, when we address the topography of the mind we
find that it not only consists of the unconscious (UCS) and the
conscious (CS) but also the preconscious(PCS). The existence of the
preconscious is brought about due to the concept of latent memories.
Since these memories are not conscious but no disturbance is caused
when bringing them forward it suggests that they are not in the
unconscious. However, these memories are in an area between the
unconscious and the conscious. The preconscious is known as a grey
zone that shares characteristics of both the unconscious and the
conscious. There are two phases of unconscious representation. The
mental act is unconscious and in the unconscious system. If it rejected
by the censorship, which is essentially a wall between the UCS and the
CS, then it cannot pass into the conscious. When a mental idea is part
of the consciousness but not yet in the conscious it is said to be in the
preconscious. These three different mental systems lead to the
question that presents the two hypotheses. When a mental act (we
restrict ourselves to those that have the nature of an idea) undergoes
the transposition from the system Ucs into the system Cs or Pcs, are
we to suppose that this transposition involves a fresh registration
comparable to a second record of the idea in question, situated,
moreover, in a fresh locality in the mind and side by side with which

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the original unconscious record continues to exist? Or are we to believe
instead that the transposition consists in a change of the state, which
is fulfilled in the so-called material and in the same locality? (Freud,
123).
The first hypothesis is the two records and is the easier of the
two. It is that when a patient is told about his repressed idea, which is
the second record, it does not change the repression, which is the first
record. This hypothesis questions that if we are to suppose that this
transposition involves a fresh registration comparable to a second
record of the idea in question, situated, moreover, in a fresh locality in
the mind and side by side with which the original unconscious record
continues to exist? (Freud, 123). The cure comes only when the
patient is able to talk about his symptoms. That the conscious idea
must somehow position itself in connection with the unconscious
memory image. This means that the conscious idea must realize what
the image from the unconscious that it is based off of. The second
hypothesis is a functional change of state, this one is more probably
but more complicated. Simply put it is a change of state in the idea.
This one addresses the question of, Or are we to believe instead that
the transposition consists in a change of the state, which is fulfilled in
the so-called material and in the same locality? (Freud, 123). To
understand the answer to the question we must place the unconscious
idea and the conscious idea side by side. We must also have the

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cathexis of the word not the idea. This points out the concept that, To
have listened to something and to have experienced something are
psychologically two different things, even though the content of each
be the same" (Freud, 125). The difference between the two mental
illnesses bring us closer to the answer of which hypothesis is correct.
Additionally, to further understand the unconscious we must
speak of it not only in representations or ideas but also in drives,
impulses, and emotions. An instinct can never be an object of
consciousness only the idea that represents the instinct (Freud,
126). To Freud almost all instincts are sexual and that is why he refers
to them as libido. An instinct can only be known when it is attached to
an idea or manifested in an emotion, without this we would know
nothing about the instincts within the unconscious. Freud also suggests
that we are only able to access these instincts through
representational ideas or derivatives. When it comes to feelings or
emotions, they must be conscious if we are to feel them. Yet in
psychoanalysis there can be unconscious emotions of things such as
love, hatred, and anxiety. This is because these emotions are
connected to an unconscious idea. The emotions become part of the
conscious because when this unconscious idea is repressed the
emotion associated with it becomes connected to a different conscious
idea. The true aim of repression is the repression of this emotion that
can be transferred to a different idea. Some, when attempting

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repression will flee since this is similar. This is unsuccessful, however,
since you cannot run away from your self and the unconscious that is
in your own head. It is important to note that when an idea is
repressed it remains within the same idea but when a feeling is
repressed it can still change to a different idea and be discharged. The
whole difference arises from the fact that ideas are cathexes ultimately of memory traces - whilst affects and emotions correspond
with processes of discharge, the final externalization of which is
perceived as feelings" (Freud, 127). When the idea is repressed the
emotion of pleasure that was associated with it can be diverted into
pain, guilt, or anxiety. It is possible for affective development to
proceed directly from the system Ucs; in this case, it always has the
character of anxiety, the substitute for all 'repressed' affects. Often
however, the instinctual impulse has to wait until it has found a
substitutive idea in the system Cs. Affective development can then
proceed from this conscious substitute, the nature of which determines
the qualitative character of the affect (Freud, 128). This quote
suggests that affective development will only happen after the
instinctual impulse finds an idea to attach itself to in the conscious
mind. The emotion with these repressed ideas from the unconscious
will always be that of anxiety.
Moreover, when looking into the specifics of repression we
determine that it is the withdrawal of the cathexis or investment or the

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withdrawal of the emotion. When in the unconscious the repressed
ideas are still able to affect the conscious. Repression tries to withdraw
the fear or anxiety that the conscious puts into the idea. These
reflections on repression have assumed that the transition from the
system Ucs to the one nearest it is not effected by making a new
record but through a change in its state, an alteration in its cathexis:
the functional hypothesis has here easily routed the two records
hypothesis (Freud, 129). An anti-cathexis is needed to understand
what repression is actually doing. an anti-cathexis, by means of
which the system Pcs guards itself against the intrusion of the
unconscious idea (Freud, 129). The withdrawal and re-use of energy
is the key to repression and to finding a cure. Knowing the specifics of
repression allow for a more comprehensive understanding of the
difference between the two neuroses.
The example of the anxiety-hysteric is key to understanding the
difference between the unconscious and conscious idea. This anxiety
the patient has occurs in three different phases. The first phase is the
feeling of fear without the subject knowing what he/she is afraid of.
This is a lingering feeling of foreboding unhappiness that lacks a cause.
The subject tries to flee from the anxiety but since it is within his or her
own head they are unable to do this. The second phase is when the
anxiety is transferred to another idea; this idea then acts as the anticathexis. The third phase is the substitute formation or the defense

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mechanism used to death with the continuous anxiety. This can include
acting crazy, endless crying, or hiding from the world. These three
phases can be specifically represented within the idea of the dog
phobia that Freud presents within his work. The concept of this is that a
person beings to feel an anxiety because the child has feelings of lust
for their mother which causes fear of their father castrating them. The
second phase is when the child begins to associate this unknown
anxiety of their father as a fear of dogs. The idea of dogs is the point
at which anxiety breaks out; it breaks out at the perception of a dog
(Freud, 131). This substitution then causes the child to have an animal
phobia or fear of dogs rather then the fear of the father castrating
them. The third phase is expressed in how the dog phobia results in a
defense mechanism of flight where the child will avoid all dogs, and
even possibly refuse to leave the house with the fear of encountering a
dog. Now, the outbreak of anxiety seems to come from the
perception, not the instinct, which allows the ego to react with flight
(Freud, 132). There is a substitute formation and to stop the fear the
child must stop the outbreak of anxiety from the substitute idea. This
happens by all the associative ideas resembling the substitute idea
being endowed with a peculiar intensity of cathexis so that they exhibit
a high degree of sensibility to excitation (Freud, 131). This now means
that the battle is being fought against the outside world instead of the
inside world. This is not a perfect representation of the hypothesis

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because although it does have two records associated with it the
cathexis moves from one object to another and thus doesnt have a
change of state. This represents the difference between the
unconscious and conscious ideas because the anxiety-hysteric has
taken an unconscious idea and without identifying it has transferred
the emotion of fear onto a conscious idea. This means that the true
anxiety causing idea will remain in the unconscious.
The final analysis of the schizophrenic is the key piece in
determining the difference between the two neuroses and the
difference between the unconscious idea and the conscious idea.
Similar to an anxiety-hysteric the object-cathexis is transferred from
object to object in schizophrenia. However, in schizophrenia this
transference, which implies a process of lifting, does not seek a new
object. The libido retreats into the persons ego or center of
consciousness. This retreat into the center of the consciousness is why
schizophrenics are associated with narcissism. As regards the relation
of the two psychical systems to each other, all observers have been
struck by the fact that in schizophrenia a great deal is consciously
expressed which in the transference neuroses can be demonstrated to
exist in the Ucs only by means of psychoanalysis (Freud, 143). Unlike
an anxiety-hysteric who flees and the only expression of their
unconscious problems is through psychoanalysis, schizophrenics
problems are consciously expressed. In schizophrenia, there are a

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number of changes of speech (Freud, 143). It should be noted that
their speech is elaborate and can sometimes seem like nonsense. The
speech can however with analysis be related to their problem and
contain an explanation of their problem. For example one of Tausks
patient would constantly refer to an eye-twister. was brought to the
clinic after a quarrel with her lover, complained that her eyes were not
right, they were twisted (Freud, 144). What at first seemed like
nonsense was then explained in comprehensible statements by the
patient as that her boyfriend was a shammer and had twister her eyes
to see things differently. She could not understand him at all, he
looked different every time; he was a shammer, an eye-twister, he had
twister her eyes; now they were not her eyes any more; now she saw
the world with different eyes (Freud, 144). This shows that this idea
and cause of the patients anxiety is in her conscious mind because
she is able to put words to it and express what is causing the eyetwisters. The only problem with identify the schizophrenics problem is
that resemblance is very little and some of the relations must be
thought of literally to understand the comparison. It is usually that the
same word will be applied to the two objects, such as a hole as a pore
and a hole in a vagina. While in an anxiety-hysteric the transference of
ideas resemble each other. For example, the ferocity of the father was
transferred to the ferocity of the dog. The identity of the two when
expressed in words, not the resemblance of the objects designated,

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has dictated the substitution. Where the two - word and thing - do not
coincide, the substitute formation in schizophrenia deviates from that
in the transference neuroses (Freud, 147). In this illness we have a
representation of the hypothesis because both a change in state and
two records exist. The cathexis has two records associated with it and
moves from an object to word and not to another object. This shows
the difference between the unconscious and conscious ideas because a
schizophrenic is associated with the conscious idea. This is because
they are able to complete the hypothesis and are able to verbalize
their anxiety and its cause.
In conclusion, to completely understand the difference between
the two neuroses and the unconscious and conscious ideas we must
understand this quote. It strikes us all at once that now we know what
the difference is between a conscious and an unconscious idea. The
two are not, as we supposed, different records of the same content
situated in different places of the mind, nor yet different functional
states of cathexis in the same place; but the conscious idea comprises
the concrete idea plus the verbal idea corresponding to it, whilst the
unconscious idea is that of the thing alone. The system Ucs contains
the thing-cathexes of the objects, the first and true object-cathexes;
the system Pcs springs up, by means of which the idea of the thing
becomes over-charged through the linking up of it with the ideas of the
words corresponding to it. It is such hyper-cathexes, we may suppose,

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that bring about higher organization in the mind and make it possible
for the primary process [of the Ucs] to be succeeded by the secondary
process which dominates Pcs (Freud, 147). This means that the
unconscious is not verbal and that it concerns on the objects and the
emotions within them. This is what the anxiety-hysteric is represented
by since they have the object and the emotion of anxiety but nothing
to discern where it comes from. While the conscious has both the idea
and the word that refers to it. This is what a schizophrenic can be
represented by since they have both the idea and can use words to
represent it. The main difference between the two neuroses and the
unconscious and conscious ideas is talking.