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.
II. A theory of Thinking
i. In this paper I am primarily concerned to present a theoretical system. Its resemblance to a philosophical theory depends on the fact that philosophers have concerned themselves with the same subject-matter; it differs from philosophical theory in that it is intended, like all psycho-analytical theories, for use. It is devised with the intention that practising psycho-analysts should restate the hypotheses of which it is composed in terms of empirically verifiable data. In this respect it bears the same relationship to similar statements of philosophy as the statements of applied mathematics bear to pure mathematics.
The derived hypotheses that are intended to admit of empirical test, and to a lesser extent the theoretical system itself, bear the same relationship to the observed facts in a psycho-analysis as statements of applied mathematics, say about a mathematical circle, bear to a statement about a circle drawn upon paper.
ii. This theoretical system is intended to be applicable in a significant number of cases; psycho-analysts should therefore experience realizations that approximate to the theory.
I attach no diagnostic importance to the theory though I think it may be applicable whenever a disorder of thought is believed to exist.