Freudian slip

   “A Freudian slip, also called parapraxis, is an error in speech, memory, or physical action that is interpreted as occurring due to the interference of an unconscious subdued wish or internal train of thought. The concept is part of classical psychoanalysis. Classical examples involve slips of the tongue, but psychoanalytic theory also embraces misreadings, mishearings, temporary forgettings, and the mislaying and losing of objects.” – Wikipedia

   This definition has lots of fancy words, but it actually refers to the moments when a wish  messes up with our speech, memory, action or others (as the above). For example, if we have a secret about someone and we truly wish to tell that secret to that person, we might catch ourselves saying to that person some parts of the secret without us intending to. It refers to the moments what we behave in a certain way even though we really want something else and we give it away somehow. Maybe this is why Jordan B. Peterson says that if we truly listen to someone we’ll find out more about that person because he/she will tell us what he\she truly wants and needs.

   Is body language part of this? Hard to tell. I think it doesn’t because Freudian slip is based on intense emotions while our body language is a form of communication which isn’t necessarily driven by intense emotions. With body language we can express an opinion while this slip expresses wishes. Even though the definition includes physical actions and other “errors”, I believe the most common is the speech slip. If you’re a fan of Harry Potter, you remember when Hagrid told Harry lots of things without intension and after that he says “I shouldn’t have said that”. That is the best example of Freudian slip.

   What have you “slipped” lately?

44 thoughts on “Freudian slip”

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  1. I slip up all the time and I often don’t even realise it. Especially in speech. But I notice when I do when I write. The errors we make are incredibly telling of the subconscious and unconscious.
    Parapraxia would be the sciencey term for it. It’s just the physical manifestation in speech stuttering and the like. Much like being unable to articulate a specific sentiment or ideation.
    Freudian slip to me is more subconscious (or even emotive). You can read into it in detail if you desire or keep it superficial. Either way there is a disconnection between the various parts that make up the “subtle self”

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    1. Unfortunately, we are not in harmony with ourselves and sometimes we’re not consistent in what we’re doing. That disconnection, as you say, manifests itself in different areas of our lives, especially in speech since this is what we do a lot.

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      1. It’s one of the things I’ve struggled with the most this year. I’ve always been articulate or eloquent of speech, but it was as if my mind could no longer formulate the words… or my mouth couldn’t keep up with the ideas. I felt disconnected from my damn self, and fell into the depths of despair. My job requires me to speak. It feels like I’ve got “dementia” of “diction”… pfft

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  3. I’m not sure if it counts as a Freudian slip, but, sometimes, when I’m editing an article I’ve written, I’ll notice a word or phrase that I don’t usually use. Silly things like, if I was hungry while writing, I might’ve used a phrase like “hard to digest”. Related to unconscious desires maybe.

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  5. I have had to rewrite whole posts because of what I’ve let slip in. I write so fast, and sometimes without thinking, that weird stuff ends up getting into the posts. I’m like woops. So I trash it and start all over.

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  6. That’s why I prefer to write because I don’t remember what I say out loud. I just go… and go… there’s zero filter. Haha. But if I have to put my thoughts to paper? There’s a lot more processing of the thought I have to translate it into linear letters.

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  7. Personally, the term freudian is offensive, he made everything sexual… but I slip constantly. Probably because I’m terrible with secrets. Don’t like them, don’t keep them…I hold onto truth and the secrets slip out. Sometimes slips are a way of releasing toxic energy. Freud would say it’s because I never received something from Daddy, but I know it’s because I can’t stand secrets. I spit them out, whether I know it or not. Great question. Great topic. Too bad Freud was an a-hole. People give him way too much credit. Jung, he’s the dude.

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    1. I prefer to take the ideas Freud launched and take out the sexual part out of it. The results can be pretty interesting. Secrets are tough to manage. We’re better without them.

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    2. (IMHO, im speaking out of my butt really) I think Freud is only remembered for the sexual stuff. Because his focus was on the development of the psyche, and how our brains develop in relation to particular stimuli. And yes, that does include the reproductive organs but that’s also a determinant in terms of sex/gender formation. Physical changes can influence metaphysical formations. Developmental psychology opened the way for the psyche to be considered as a complex system, which then in turn would allow Jung to really crack that nut open.
      But it’s fun to talk about dicks, butts, cunts and boobs. And they produce stuff, too. Poop. Pee. Milk. Stuck that is “icky” but necessary as is the CIRCLE OF LIFE! *The lion king music plays and I back away slowly towards the horizon*

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  8. As they say in the game of chance “a card that is laid is a card that is played, you don’t pick it up and play another if you didn’t get the results you wanted”… 🙂 having never met Freud, I generally mean what I say and say what I mean, let the chips fall where they may…. 🙂

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