ABSTRACT
This chapter aims to explore the unconscious thought processes, and, thus, to capture some ways of functioning of the human mind of relevance to, and indicative of, the phenomenon of prejudice. It argues that Sigmund Freud’s exposition of primary process logic captures a central feature of the logic of operation of prejudicial perceptions and formulations. The chapter focuses on limitations in thinking that prejudices can be addressed and corrected by better logic and better arguments, as such beliefs miss out on the motivational aspect and its grounding in a different level of the personality. It shows how condensation and displacement can be seen as central structural features of prejudice. Apart from neurotic symptom formation, the phenomenon of displacement of affective energy is particularly noticeable in the case of dreams. The process of displacement determines the form of dreams in that the manifest content no longer resembles the core of the dream-thought.
