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SHAPIRO OPENED THE PANEL by emphasizing that unconscious fantasy has always been a core concept in psychoanalysis. He traced its roots to the topographic theory, pointing up that the early theory permitted an adequate description of psychic representation and symbolized formation, but did not address the contradiction implied in cathectic mobility and stable unconscious structures that repeatedly sought emergence into consciousness.
Shapiro noted that J. A. Arlow and C. Brenner demonstrated the advantages of shifting from a noun concept of the unconscious to an adjectival form (descriptive unconscious). Fantasies were no longer classified with respect to presumed residence, but rather with respect to their representative stability in consciousness. Arlow and Brenner suggested that the topographic notion of the preconscious is superfluous, and emphasized how fantasies are represented and what ego functions are operative in the formation of compromise. Unconscious conflict resolutions in fantasy reside as anachronistic residues in the mental life of individuals, expressed in varieties of experiences explored in the analytic situation. Shapiro contrasted this classical view of unconscious fantasy with views of other theorists who have taken over the unconscious fantasy as a commodity for fair trade. Shapiro noted that our concept has been fostered away and neglected, abused, or renamed and developed so that we are no longer sure of its parentage.
Shapiro said that while the panelists may not present the last word on this topic, they were selected because they "all have something to say about this topic, are articulate, and … willing to meet each other without shame, animosity, or reluctance to discuss what is on [their] minds."
Abend began his presentation by stating that the existence of unconscious fantasies is an explanatory assumption, derived from