Devereux coins the term orthopraxis to describe the generally unconsciously determined undoing of one parapraxis by another. He describes numerous clinical examples in which a second parapraxis occurs following the initial one in such a way as to cancel its deleterious results. In underscoring the frequent reality orientation of symptomatic behavior the author wishes to dispel the technical superstition that reality is not 'analyzable'. He demonstrates the manner in which a neurotic act can achieve reality-adaptive ends as a corollary to the neurotic exploitation of normally appropriate activity. Neurotic components of functioning do not preclude productivity and indeed many artistic and scientific innovations (including psychoanalytic interpretations) result from the realistic exploitation of 'corrective parapraxes'.