Disposition and chance in Freud: an introduction to the nations of etiological equation, complimentary series and impulse intensity in the moment

Abstract

This article has the aim to explore how Freud treated the problem of the etiology of the neurosis. To do so, we detach three key-notions: (1) etiological equation, (2) complementary series (3) drive intensity at the moment. With these notions, we are able to percieve that, for Freud, the decision about the first cause of neurosis, if it is inate or if it is acquired, is a false problem. In his work, the duality inherited/acquired gets entirely diluted for it is understood as a conjugation of factors always present. To Freud, the question never was that of deciding about the first cause, if the nature of what had happened to the individual or if his peculiarities. Keywords: Etiological equation, Complementary series, Drive, Etiology of the neurosis, Inherited/acquired.