ABSTRACT
This chapter shows how the mind might be viewed as a dynamic system, and how it shares characteristics of other systems that have been studied and fruitfully elucidated by Chaos theory. Non-linear systems are those whose behaviour is describable only by considering the interaction of the components within the system, and not simply by the addition of the system's qualities. The chapter also shows how psychoanalytic models of the mind resemble models of non-linear systems. It examines some common clinical phenomena, such as dreams, and also subjects on a more abstract level, such as the mechanism of action of psychoanalysis. The chapter provides a comparison between mental phenomena and fluid systems on a formal level in the hopes of expanding the understanding of complex mental processes. The state transitions occur where the nature of the system changes markedly, for example, when a fluid passes from smooth to turbulent flow.
