ABSTRACT

The concept of the symbolic equation appears for the first time in my first paper,‘Some aspects of the analysis of a schizophrenic’,125 in connection with the difficulty of symbolisation in my schizophrenic patient.The patient made no distinction between symbols and the objects they symbolised. For him, being like something and being something was the same. Symbols were equivalent to the things symbolised. There was an unconscious equation between the two. In my second paper,‘A psycho-analytic contribution to aesthetics’126

I describe symbol formation as a precipitate of mourning. In ‘Notes on symbol formation’127 I formulate a theory of the

dynamics of symbol-formation and the role played by projective identification. Symbolism as tripartite relationship of Self, Object and Symbol.When projective identification is excessive, part of the ego becomes identified with the object, while the symbol, which is a creation and function of the ego, becomes identified with the object symbolised.