Metaphors in Freud's theories.

Metaphors are a constitutive element in the genesis of scientific theories and Freud himself invented eloquent metaphors for the phenomena he observed in his research work: ego, id, super-ego, suppression, resistance, etc. The author establishes two functions performed by metaphors in Freud's works: a) the theory-productive metaphor significant in the development of explanatory psychoanalytic paradigms and advancing a new perspective or conceptualization, and b) almost the opposite kind of metaphor, designed to assure contact with much greater than popular thinking much less than and ultimately ensconcing itself as a technical term. With reference to two examples from Freud's theory of parapraxis (much greater than interference much less than and much greater than compromise much less than) the author explores both the theoretical benefit of Freud's use of metaphors and also the latent potential for theoretical misprision and misunderstanding inherent in them, as exemplified by Adolf Grunbaum and Jacques Lacan.