TRUTH

Sigmund Freud's notion of truth evolved from a factual conception into a relativistic method where the true and the false are defined both in relation to a conventional and bounded space (that of the cure) and the dynamic effects that "plausible" constructions might have on the psyche. Truth as an objective no longer remains "the fundamental rule of psychoanalysis" (1914g, pp. 147, 150). It inclines towards the notion of reality testing that demands that the subject partially abandon their illusions. Truth as an ideal is inseparable from psychoanalytic inquiry and is unattainable, except partially in the "nuclei" of truth present within individual and collective distortions.

The search for factors that cause psychic suffering can be confused with the search for truth inasmuch as they are both repressed, misrepresented, displaced, represented by their opposite, and the like. Initially Freud imagined rediscovering the traumatic events in the histories of his patients themselves, but promptly noticing "that there are no indications of reality in the unconscious, so that one cannot distinguish between the truth and fiction that is cathected with affect" (letter to Wilhelm Fleiss, 21 September 1897), he ended up privileging the psychical reality of the subject, wherein a dynamic verisimilitude was elaborated which would take on the value of truth. This relativization of truth seems to coincide with a Pirandellian conception of it (Each in His Own Way ). In fact, truth as a value has not disappeared from the Freudian purview but it has become subtler. Thus interpretation is not about the exhumation of truth but rather construction through the adoption of a coherent paradigm (Viderman, 1970), originating from the unperceived formulations of the subject's free associations or dreams.

Thus for Jacques Lacan, truth extricates itself from reality: "In psychoanalytic anamnesis, it is not a question of reality, but of truth, because the effect of full speech is to reorder past contingencies by conferring on them the sense of necessities to come" (1956, p. 48). Truth is not precisely being true to reality, rather it speaks and stutters through its symptomatic distortions.

The analyst has to engage with these "nuclei" of truth, then; Freud, for instance, defined them in relation to the sexual theories of children, which despite being untrue nonetheless each contain "a fragment of real truth" (1908c, p. 215). This is an adult, intellectual mode of investigation whose results, because they are limited to the possibilities of human understanding, would have been false in relation to a broader perspective, but which include nevertheless "inspired" partial but significant interpretations.

The quest for truth proceeds from a "truth fantasy" (Mijolla-Mellor, 1985), which relates to an image of lost harmony (transparency, luminosity) within the I, the others, and one's self. Truth, in terms of the demand for truthfulness, is central to the fundamental rule that requires the abandonment of secrecy; however, it also guides the behavior of the analyst in their relationship with the patient, in their vision of the world, and in their research, requiring them to relinquish personal illusions for the construction of a coherent schema. Challenging illusion and narcissistic comfort, truth, according to Freud, is a force in its own right: "The hardest truths are heard and recognized at last, after the interests they have injured and the emotions they have roused have exhausted their fury" (1910d, p. 215).

Piera Aulagnier gives truth a central place in relation to the identity of the subject. It is the object of a "battle never definitively won nor lost to which periodically the I must surrender in order to modify and defend its positions, failing which it would be unable to turn towards or invest in its own identificatory space" (1984, p. 147).

The notion of truth in psychoanalysis is tied to the history the subject, in the same way as it is to humanity, because it is not simply a case of a balance between understanding and the thing, but of a narrative that is reconstructed using the residues left behind by legend.

Alain de Mijolla

See also: History and psychoanalysis.

Bibliography

Aulagnier, Piera. (1984). L'Apprenti-historien et le maîtresorcier. Du discours identifiant au discours délirant. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.

——. (1914g). Remembering, repeating and working-through (Further recommendations on the technique of psycho-analysis II). SE, 12: 145-156.

Freud, Sigmund. (1908c). On the sexual theories of children. SE, 9: 205-226.

——. 1910d). The future prospects of psycho-analytic therapy. SE, 11: 139-151.

——. (1950a [1887-1902]). Extracts from the Fliess papers. SE, 1: 173-280.

Lacan, Jacques. (1989). Ecrits: A Selection. (Alan Sheridan, Trans.) 5th ed. London: Tavistock/Routledge.

Further Reading

Reed, Gail S. (1995). Clinical truth and contemporary relativism: Meaning, narration. Journal of the American Psycho-Analytic Association, 43, 713-740.

Sass, L. A., and Woolfolk, R. L. (1988). Psychoanalysis and the hermeneutic turn: On "Narrative truth." Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 36, 429-454.

Schafer, Roy. (1992). Retelling a life. In Narration and dialogue in psychoanalysis. New York: Basic Books.

Spence, Donald. (1982). Narrative truth and historical truth. Meaning and interpretation in psychoanalysis. New York: W. W. Norton and Co.

Spezzano, Charles. (1993). A relational model of inquiry and truth: Conversation. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 3, 177-208.

truth there is truth in wine proverbial saying, mid 16th century; meaning that a person who is drunk is more likely to speak the truth. The saying is found earlier in Latin as in vino veritas, and in classical Greek (attributed to the lyric poet Alcaeus, c.620–580 bc). (Compare when the wine is in, the wit is out.)
Truth and Reconciliation Commission a commission set up by a South African Parliamentary Act on 26 July 1995 to investigate claims of abuses during the Apartheid era.
truth is stranger than fiction proverbial saying, early 19th century, implying that no invention can be as remarkable as what may actually happen; originally with reference to Byron's Don Juan (1823), ‘Truth is always strange, Stranger than fiction.’ (Compare fact is stranger than fiction.)
truth is the first casualty of war proverbial saying, early 20th century; the originator is sometimes said to have been Hiram Johnson, addressing the US Senate in 1918, but it does not occur in the record of the relevant speech.
truth lies at the bottom of a well proverbial saying, mid 16th century, sometimes used to imply that the truth of a situation can be hard to find. In earlier classical sources, the saying ‘we know nothing certainly, for truth lies in the deep’ is attributed to Democritus, and ‘truth lies sunk in a well’ is attributed to the 3rd–4th century Latin author Lactantius.
truth makes the Devil blush saying recorded from the mid 20th century; perhaps a variant of tell the truth and shame the Devil.
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth the absolute truth, without concealment or addition; part of the formula of the oath taken by witnesses in court.
truth will out proverbial saying, mid 15th century; meaning that in the end what has really happened will become apparent. (Compare murder will out.)
what is truth? in biblical allusion, often with reference to the account in John 18:38 of the examination of Jesus by Pilate, when ‘Pilate saith unto him, What is truth?’

See also children and fools tell the truth, four noble truths, the greater the truth, half the truth, moment of truth, the naked truth, tell the truth.

truth / troō[unvoicedth]/ • n. (pl. truths / troō[voicedth]z; troō[unvoicedth]s/ ) the quality or state of being true: he had to accept the truth of her accusation. ∎  (also the truth) that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality: tell me the truth she found out the truth about him. ∎  a fact or belief that is accepted as true: the emergence of scientific truths the fundamental truths about mankind. PHRASES: in truth really; in fact: in truth, she was more than a little unhappy.of a truth archaic certainly: of a truth, such things used to happen. to tell the truth (or truth to tell or if truth be told) to be frank (used esp. when making an admission or when expressing an unwelcome or controversial opinion): I think, if truth be told, we were all a little afraid of him. the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth used to emphasize the absolute veracity of a statement.

truth State or condition of being true. A ‘truth’ is something that is deemed to be genuine, an accurate representation of reality or a statement that accords with proven, provable, or observable facts. Two famous theories for determining the meaning of truth are the correspondence theory, which defines it as “that which corresponds with facts”, and the coherence theory, which defines it as “that which conforms with what we have come to accept”. Other theories, espoused by pragmatists, take a utilitarian view of truth, defining it as “that which it is good, useful, or helpful to believe”. This evaluative concept is also important in logic, where either of two truth-values can be assigned to a statement, describing it as either true or false. See also epistemology; ontology; pragmatism

truth In the OT the ‘truth’ of God means his reliability (Isa. 65: 16); and reports which are personally verified are established as true and reliable (1 Kgs. 10: 6–7). In the NT truth is correct knowledge (1 Tim. 4: 3; 2 Tim. 2: 25), which is a Greek concept, but it also has the OT sense of reliability (2 Cor. 7: 14) and is to be obeyed (Gal. 5: 7). Much of the gospel of John is an exposition of the truth of God (John 3: 33) which is revealed by Christ (John 8: 26), who is himself the truth (John 14: 6). The Holy Spirit of truth will come (John 15: 26) and the Church will be led into all truth by him (John 16: 13).

truth quality of being true, faith, loyalty OE.; something that is true XIV. OE.trīwð, trēowð corr. to OHG. triuwida, ON. (pl.) trygðir plighted faith, f. -trīewe, trēowe TRUE; see -TH1.
Hence truthful (of statements, etc.) XVI; (of persons) XVIII; (of ideas, artistic or literary presentation. etc.) XIX.

truth •buck tooth, couth, Duluth, forsooth, Maynooth, ruth, sleuth, sooth, strewth, tooth, truth, youth •eye tooth • dog-tooth • sawtooth •houndstooth • sabretooth