These terms are used in linguistics, philosophy, sociology, and metapsychology to describe approaches to studying systems and phenomena.
1. Diachronic Structures (Greek: “dia” – through, “chronos” – time)
The development of a system or phenomenon over time, crucial for understanding cause-and-effect relationships. Example in metapsychology: The development of personality and changes in its complexes over time.
2. Synchronic Structures (Greek: “syn” – together, “chronos” – time)
They examine the state of a system ‒ the interconnections between its elements at a given moment, without considering past changes. This approach is essential for describing the structure of a phenomenon.
Example in metapsychology:
Analyzing a person’s behavior in a specific situation. Synchronic and diachronic methods often complement each other. In structuralism (Saussure, Lévi-Strauss, Lacan), synchronic analysis is considered more important since structure is defined by the relationships between elements within a system rather than by their historical origin.
