MOURNING,DREAMING, AND THE DISCOVERY OF THE OEDIPUS COMPLEX

The author argues that the structure of mourning and the structure of the Oedipus complex are triadic, the latter being obvious and easy to conceptualize, while the former is quite subtle. When it is the father who is mourned, the son must repeatedly invoke the dead object so that libidinal cathexis can be reinvested in living objects. Such was the situation in which Freud found himself in 1896 when his father died—the triadic nature of the Oedipus complex ironically not yet discovered by him. In the author's belief, Freud's mourning and his attendant rich dream life occurring between 1896 and 1897 gave him access to the unconscious raw material that would eventually help him conceptualize the triadic structure at the instinctual core of the Oedipus complex.     

Quantity or quality in dealing with human problems

As man, in light of the population trend, faces larger numbers of people, his decisions are likely to suffer in quality; he will tend to disregard individualism more and more, and ultimately to reduce man to nothingness. This article explores some of the long-term implications of such decisions and the professional responsibility for the results. A fresh look at the morality of decision-making appears urgent. The issue is one of quantity versus quality in dealing with problems in human behavior.