ABSTRACT
This chapter can be considered as a historical illustration of studies on the notion of psychic (mental energy). We present the views of Sigmund Freud. They are heavily based on the split of psychic processes into unconscious and conscious counterparts. Freud’s approach can be considered as an attempt to go beyond the operational definition of psychic (mental) energy (section 4.1). We are especially interested in the following two components Freud’s theory:
unconscious representation of psychic energy
transformation of the biophysical energy of a human into psychic energy
