CriticaLink | Freud: On Narcissism | Terms

In conjunction with his discussion of the ideal ego, Freud distinguishes between idealization and sublimation. Both have to do with the operations of the libido, but in idealization, the object of libidinal investment is given a value that exceeds its actual value. Freud suggests that men, because of the nature of their anaclitic object choice tend to idealize the women they fall in love with. The ego itself can be aggrandized in this way, resulting in the ideal ego and its role in repression. Freud is careful to distinguish idealization from sublimation, which is primarily the function of deflecting object-libido away from direct sexual expression.

• Adler, Alfred
• Bleuler, Eugen
• Busch, Wilhelm
• Ferenczi, Sándor
• Heine, Heinrich
• Jung, Carl Gustav
• Kraepelin, Emil

• anaclitic object choice
• anxiety neurosis
• cathexis
• Cogito
• dementia praecox
• erotogenicity
• hypochondria
• hysteria
• idealization
• instinct
• introversion
• libido
• narcissism
• narcissistic object choice
• neurasthenia
• neurosis
• Oedipus complex
• paraphrenia
• primary narcissism
• retrogression
• schizophrenia
• sublimation
• superego
• transference neuroses
• Umwelt
• vicissitude