Primary Process Thinking

The present work sets forth the results of over a half century of sustained work on the psychoanalytic theory of thinking, restated in a way that is informed by the new brain sciences of the past two decades. An integrated summary of over a hundred researches presents many curious and interesting findings about how thought develops, breaks down in mental illness, and gives rise to creativity expressed in most of the arts and sciences. It also shows how empirical findings can test specific ideas from psychoanalysis, supporting some, refuting a few, and modifying still others. Thus, it concretely demonstrates that Freud's discipline can become a science.