Edwin Holt

The Freudian Wish
Chapter 1, The Doctrine of the Wish
What an interesting book! Freud is definitely on my list of extremely odd people, but Holt’s description of Freud’s idea of the “wish” is very insightful. As with most readings, I am never satisfied to extract a small segment of a larger work such as this because the syntax has changed so much, that to fully grasp the intent, it is compulsory to read entire chapters or sections.

Holt begins this chapter by telling us that the Freudian Psychology is based on the, “Doctrine of the Wish just as natural science is based on the concept of function.” (Holt, 1915) Holt continues his description by telling us that “wishes” are dynamic concepts. Holt explains that Freud views natural phenomena not as “things” but as “processes.” “The ‘wish’ is the ‘thing’ aspect of mental phenomena.” (Holt, 1915) In the sections that follow his introductory statements, Holt goes into detail of exactly what “wish” means, what its attributes are, and tries to define it to some degree.

Holt gives a short definition of what a “wish” is, “a course of action which some mechanism of the body is set to carry out, whether it actually does so or not.” (Holt, 1915) At this point Holt gives some insight as to how to understand this concept. He tells us that the “wish” includes impulse, tendency, desire, purpose, attitude, and the like, but it does not include an emotional component. Holt also explains that the “wish” is any purpose or project for a course of action thought about, or actually done. Some “wishes” are compatible, and some are antagonistic. To rephrase what Freudian Psychology is we could say that it is an interplay of “wishes.” One example might be; While in bed, a person’s mind may tell them it would be nice to stay in bed, and at the same time it could be telling them to hurry and catch the bus for work. This is what Holt describes as this scenerio as a conflict of “wishes.” To quote him exactly, “wishes,” “conflict when they lead the body into opposed lines of conduct.” (Holt, 1915)

Where this idea becomes interesting is when Holt delves into the theory of dream interpretation. I could write an entire volume on this section, but for the sake of the assignment I will remain faithful to the summary format. “Wish” conflicts are evident most often in dreams or lapses in memory. Freud believes many dreams are the pure realization of “wishes.” He believes that people do, in dreams, what they are prevented from doing when awake. Freud concludes that dreams are dictated by “wishes.” One point that Holt emphasizes about dream content that Freud does not address, is that the mechanisms of perception and will being alike in structure. Holt says, “this makes it probable that ‘wishes’ can count on the co-operation of the, “here deceptive,” senses.” (Holt, 1915)

Holt continues with his description of dreams, as far as, motive and cause, products of “wishes.” He tells us that symbolism in dreams, although common, is extremely ambiguous. To move into modern thought we could say the “wish” described in this chapter could be equated to what we call “motive.”

To summarize Holt’s idea it could be said that the part of our personality, that we keep hidden from the world, contains many “wishes” that are held in check by our external personality. Those “wishes” come to life in our dream world. If they are acted upon, as we are capable of doing, in our awakened state we would then experience guilt for having acted in such a manner, and once our external personality took over, we would wonder why we acted as we did.

“Certainly nothing offends us more rudely than this doctrine [of original sin], and yet without this mystery, the most incomprehensible of all, we are incomprehensible to ourselves.”
Blaise Pascal
If I were reading this chapter by Holt from a psychological point of view I might find it insightful and fascinating, but there is no dichotomy in my thought processes that divides secular and sacred. Therefore, although I enjoy reading this type of work, it will always be filtered through the lens of Christianity and what the Bible teaches. I may still find it insightful and fascinating, but will do so for an entirely different reason.
I reference the quote above because I believe it summarizes the thought contained in this work by Edwin Holt. I understand that he is, in essence, only describing the ideas of Freud, but there is an implied endorsement of Freud’s conclusions. Will I continue to read and study Holt’s ideas? The answer is definitely in the affirmative. I think Holt offers an interesting perspective to the ideas he writes about, and I believe there are insights to be gained about human behavior from his books and notes.
As for this writing, I will state my belief about Sigmund Freud; his belief is that people are not so much rational beings, but they are like trading cards in the hands of children (unconscious forces) with no control over their actions let alone an understanding of the controlling forces. Holt gets close to the truth when he tries to quote Proverbs 23:7, “for as he thinks within himself, / so he is.” But he, like Freud, misses the mark as he rambles back to the world of psychology abandoning the line of Christian thought.
What Freud it trying to account for in what Holt is explaining is how the sin-nature operates. The Bible tells us that we are all born with a sin-nature. We tend to spend most of our lives trying to come to terms with it. Whether we embrace the part of our personality that is formed by character built on right actions, or to embrace our sin-nature and live out the reckless thoughts that destroy our lives, the choice is ours to make. Freud’s idea of the “wish” reminds me of the caricature we often see on television when a person is trying to make a decision and you see God on one shoulder and satan on the opposite shoulder both wanting their way with the person. The picture is humorous, but what does it take to live the way God intended for us to live? My answer would be a good sense of right and wrong understanding our sinful natures, and a determination to arrange our lives according to God’s Word.
As I said in the very beginning of this journal submission, I could write volumes about this subject, but I will end it now.

Holt, E. B. (1915). THE FREUDIAN WISH AND ITS PLACE IN ETHICS. New York, NY: HENBY HOLT AND COMPANY.

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