What sort of clinical evidence can free association provide? Can it be characterized without presupposing Freud's controversial metaphysics? This essay claims that free association aims for entirely open and spontaneous expression. The emphasis on expression contrasts with Freud's own emphasis on dispassionate self-observation. So conceived, the method of free association is here argued to be epistemically valuable in two interestingly different ways. Firstly, it can enable recognition of certain long-standing patterns in the analysand's emotional and desiderative life, which are called concerns. Secondly, and more distinctively, since such an extreme degree of open, spontaneous expression will often be difficult to begin or will break down unexpectedly, the method enables recognition of ways in which an analysand's moral education has suppressed and re-shaped those concerns.

中文翻译：

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自由联想作为一种认识方法

自由联想可以提供什么样的临床证据？可以在不预设弗洛伊德有争议的形而上学的情况下对其进行表征吗？这篇文章声称，自由联想旨在完全开放和自发的表达。对表达的强调与弗洛伊德自己对冷静的自我观察的强调形成鲜明对比。如此构想，自由联想的方法在这里被认为具有两种有趣的不同方式的认知价值。首先，它可以识别被分析者情绪和渴望生活中某些长期存在的模式，这些模式被称为担忧。其次，更明显的是，由于这种极端开放、自发的表达往往难以开始或会出乎意料地崩溃，因此该方法能够识别被分析者的表达方式。