Key Arguments

• Freud emphasizes that the body surface is "a place from which simultaneously, outer and inner perceptions can go forth" and that "to the touch it gives two sensations, one of which can rival an inner perception," making the body a unique perceptual object.
• He notes discussions in psycho-physiology about how "a person’s body singles itself out from the world of perception" and suggests that "Pain seems to play a role in this" and that we gain "new knowledge of organs through painful illnesses," modeling how we form the concept of our own body.
• From this he derives the thesis: "The Ego is primarily something bodily, not just a surface entity, rather itself the projection of a surface," integrating his empirical and anatomical reflections.
• He offers an anatomical analogy: "we can most likely identify one with anatomy’s 'cortical homunculus,' which in the cerebral cortex stands on its head, stretching its heels upward, facing backwards, and, as is known, carries the language zone on its left," aligning his metapsychology with neuroanatomical models.

Source Quotes

44 There seems yet another factor as the influence of the pcpt -System encouraged the Ego’s development and its isolation from the Id. One’s body (and above all, on its selfsame surface) is a place from which simultaneously, outer and inner perceptions can go forth. It will be seen as another object, but to the touch 45 it gives two sensations, one of which can rival an inner perception.

One’s body (and above all, on its selfsame surface) is a place from which simultaneously, outer and inner perceptions can go forth. It will be seen as another object, but to the touch 45 it gives two sensations, one of which can rival an inner perception. In psycho-physiology, it has been sufficiently discussed in which way a person’s body singles itself out from the world of perception.

In psycho-physiology, it has been sufficiently discussed in which way a person’s body singles itself out from the world of perception. Pain seems to play a role in this and how we obtain new knowledge of organs through painful illnesses models perhaps the manner in which we overall come to the concept of our own body. The Ego is primarily something bodily, not just a surface entity, rather itself the projection of a surface.

Pain seems to play a role in this and how we obtain new knowledge of organs through painful illnesses models perhaps the manner in which we overall come to the concept of our own body. The Ego is primarily something bodily, not just a surface entity, rather itself the projection of a surface. If looking for an anatomical analogy for this, we can most likely identify one with anatomy’s “cortical homunculus,” 46 which in the cerebral cortex stands on its head, stretching its heels upward, facing backwards, and, as is known, carries the language zone on its left.

The Ego is primarily something bodily, not just a surface entity, rather itself the projection of a surface. If looking for an anatomical analogy for this, we can most likely identify one with anatomy’s “cortical homunculus,” 46 which in the cerebral cortex stands on its head, stretching its heels upward, facing backwards, and, as is known, carries the language zone on its left. The relationship of the Ego to consciousness has repeatedly been recognized, nevertheless there are some important facts to depict afresh.

Key Concepts

• One’s body (and above all, on its selfsame surface) is a place from which simultaneously, outer and inner perceptions can go forth.
• It will be seen as another object, but to the touch 45 it gives two sensations, one of which can rival an inner perception.
• Pain seems to play a role in this and how we obtain new knowledge of organs through painful illnesses models perhaps the manner in which we overall come to the concept of our own body.
• The Ego is primarily something bodily, not just a surface entity, rather itself the projection of a surface.
• If looking for an anatomical analogy for this, we can most likely identify one with anatomy’s “cortical homunculus,” 46 which in the cerebral cortex stands on its head, stretching its heels upward, facing backwards, and, as is known, carries the language zone on its left.

Context

Chapter II discussion connecting the ego’s origin in the pcpt-cs system to bodily self-perception and neuroanatomical models.