Introduction

This book explores the complex process of symbolization through psychoanalysis, linguistics, semiotics, and anthropology. Beginning with Baudelaire’s vision of “Correspondences”, it examines how sensoriality and language link the material and immaterial. The etymology of symbolon reveals the symbol’s social and relational origins. Freud’s introduction of the unconscious into symbol theory deepens the analysis, underscoring the symbolic’s polysemic and interpretive nature. Perspectives from Saussure and Peirce distinguish the symbol from the linguistic sign, focusing on arbitrary versus motivated relations. The triadic model of the sign, developed by Peirce and expanded by Eco, frames symbolization as an ongoing process of meaning-making. Clinical and theoretical insights trace the evolution of symbolization in psychoanalysis—from hysteria and dream theory to the symbolic meaning of money, and the differences between projection and projective identification. Freudian and Kleinian views on defence mechanisms are compared, showing their role in symbol formation. One chapter presents clinical illustrations of symbolization across the spectrum from psychosis to neurosis, in both children and adults, demonstrating its diagnostic and therapeutic implications. Another one reflects on related Freudian concepts—representation, sublimation, and creation—highlighting their convergences and differences with symbolization. The discussion culminates in a reflection on prehistoric art as a seminal act of human symbolization. Through these themes, the book argues that symbolization is both an individual psychic process and a collective cultural phenomenon, essential for managing human vulnerability and forging enduring forms of meaning.