Psychic Energy Reconsidered

Problems in the theory of psychic energy and the controversies surrounding them were brought into focus by Robert Wallerstein, in his introductory remarks. He reviewed the early development of the energy theory, from Freud's earliest equation of affect and energy through his reconceptualization of it as the energy of the instinctual drives, an energy that ultimately, through the transformations of neutralization, binding, and fusion, provides the power for all the activities of the psychic apparatus. He touched upon differences of opinion that have been expressed concerning the necessity for deriving all energy from drive energy, as well as doubts regarding the suitability of the concept that the energy itself has a quality that is responsible for its effects. Wallerstein also made it clear that, whatever the theoretical considerations are around these somewhat convoluted and at times peripheral issues, certain basic phenomena gave rise to the energy theory as an explanation for them and still represent an important problem to those who challenge energic explanations. He was referring particularly to the subjective feeling of intensity and also to the question of how a particular action occurs as a choice among several if it is not determined as a resultant of conflicting forces of different intensities. In this connection, he criticized those who tend to object to energy theory on the specific ground that it cannot or has not been quantified, and he defended the position that not all sciences, especially clinical ones, need be based on quantitative assessments. Of course the concept of psychic energy is a metaphoric construct and was not intended to be understood literally, although it has nevertheless often been so used. In