Association, free association and the logic of conversation

Jaap van Heerden

pp. 179-184

in: Stam, Leendert Mos, Warren Thorngate, Bernie Kaplan (eds), Recent trends in theoretical psychology, Berlin, Springer, 1993

Abstract

The association of ideas has a long-standing tradition in the theory of knowledge as can be illustrated by an historical account of philosophical empiricism. From the very beginning association of ideas has played a dominant role in psychology too. Its value as an explanatory concept has only recently been doubted by psychologists who prefer a cognitive approach to the exploration of intellectual powers.In psychoanalysis association has to be distinguished from free association. It is not clear what exactly marks the difference between association and free association. It is argued here that free association can best be typified as an intentional violation of the conversational postulates as explicated in Grice's theory of conversational implicature.