Changes

Karl Abraham added to [[Freud]]'s [[stages]] of early [[libidinal]] [[development]] ([[oral]], [[anal]], [[phallic]], [[genital]]) more precise subdivisions, based not only on the [[sexual]] aims (i.e., actions) of a [[drive]] but on its sexual [[objects]]. For Abraham, the [[subject]]'s relation to his sexual objects is marked by corresponding stages of "[[love]]" ranging from "[[auto-erotism]]" in the earlier oral [[stage]] to [[full]] "[[object]]-love" in the final [[genital stage]]. In the genital [[phase]], [[The Subject|the subject ]] ideally overcomes all traces of earlier stages, resolves the [[Oedipus]] adn [[castration]] [[complexes]], and transfers the [[feeling]] of affection or hostility which he entertains toward his [[patients]] on to the environemnt; he thus is ready for subsequent [[adaptation]] to [[society]]. It is in the elaboration of these different stages in [[terms]] of their relevance for [[character]] development that Abraham orchestrates differences between "genital" and "[[pregenital]]" characters.<ref>Muller, John P. and William J. Richardson. [[Lacan]] and [[Language]]: A Reader's [[Guide]] to [[Ecrits]]. New York: International Universiites Press, Inc., 1982.</ref>