Emotionen als primäres Repräsentanzsystem: theoretische und konzeptuelle Aspekte der frühesten Entstehung des Selbst

The psychoanalytically conceived concepts of representation can be revised and expanded: the formation of representations can be understood as a process that underlies the development of everything mental. The psychoanalytical concept of representation is very similar to the concept of representation in basic neurobiological research, where representations are understood even further as an essential component of all life processes.

In this context, the understanding of the emotional has changed considerably. Emotions are also regarded as a primary system of representation, as the origin of all representations, as organizers of the soul and as organizers of the self (Solms 2023). From this, concepts of a self which is organized by emotions and stratified into several qualitatively different classes of representations can be developed. These concepts of the emotional origin of the self can now be elaborated in more detail, as can treatment-related concepts of how to work with an emotionally represented self in therapy (Plassmann 2024).