You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
October 19, 1964. CONTRIBUTION TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONCEPT 'THE UNIVERSALITY OF THE UNCONSCIOUS.' Charles A. Sarnoff, M.D.
The author presents results of a psychoanalytic study of pre-Columbian art made during visits to archeological sites in Central and South America. Variants of repeated elements in stone carving and pottery designs are treated as though
they were psychoanalytic associations. Thus, myths relatively free from Western preconceptions are derived; for example, 'fluid from the body of a special person brings fertility to the earth' and 'a snake gives birth'. These myths are then compared with the productions of patients. Dr. Sarnoff briefly reviews some of his findings and theoretical conclusions, and discusses the symbolizing function of the ego as it relates to the formation of symbols and metaphors. The first step in the formation of a symbol is the establishment of symbolic linkages, the precursors of symbols. Links are made through association by way of superficial similarities between body-ego elements and objects in the environment (i.e., phallus-snake). From the economic point of view, the establishment of a symbolic linkage means the creation of a pathway for the displacement of instinctual energies. A symbol is formed when this link is used, without conscious awareness, as a pathway for the discharge of drive energies away from the body or primary object to the word representation of the linked environmental object. This effects the discharge of drive energies in such a way that meaningful object representations are spared. The author elaborated on the nature of the core fantasy in relation to symbols, myths, and personal fantasies. In pre-Columbian culture, the expression of the drives through symbols as reflected in myths was sanctioned and encouraged, while in our culture it is not.