IDENTIFICATION AS AN ALIENATED MODE OF CREATIVE IMAGINATION A Theoretical Contribution to the Psychology of Mind, Authenticity, and Occupation of Consciousness
Stvaralastva Psihologija
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) June 7, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20584684 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that identification is not a distinct psychological mechanism but a defective mode of creative imagination, with one mechanism functioning in an authentic direction (producing one's own thought-forms) or an alienated direction (appropriating others' thought-forms). Proposes authenticity as a criterion of psychological health. |
Abstract
Contemporary psychology generally views identification as one of the mechanisms of psychological development, socialization, and personality formation. This paper proceeds from a different assumption. Identification is not a separate psychological mechanism but rather a defective mode of the fundamental mechanism of creative imagination. The central thesis of the paper is that there are not two independent processes in the human mind—creative imagination and identification—but one and the same mechanism that can function in two different directions: authentic and alienated. In the authentic direction, the subject produces thought-forms which subsequently shape his behavior and reality. In the alienated direction, the subject appropriates the thought-forms of others and allows them to shape his life as if they were his own. The paper analyzes the theoretical implications of this model, compares it with psychoanalysis, analytical psychology, Buddhism, Hesychasm, and contemporary cognitive psychology, and proposes a new concept of authenticity as a criterion of psychological health. Keywords: identification, creative imagination, authenticity, occupation of the mind, consciousness, subject, psychotherapy.