Moran's stated aim

In “Swann’s medical philosophy,” Moran wants to distinguish between two types of satisfaction: state and act. These correspond to two OED meanings. 

State satisfaction. Satisfaction can be considered a state of mind, viz., a state of contentment. .

     1834 Is it not the way of men to dwell with satisfaction on their good deeds, particularly, when for some reason or other, their conscience smites them? J. H. Newman, Parochial Sermons vol. I. vi. 88

Act satisfaction. Satisfaction can also mean the gratification or resolution of a desire or need.

     a1616 If for this night he intreat you to his bed, give him promise of satisfaction. W. Shakespeare, Measure for Measure (1623) iii. i. 265

A more promising target

We can distinguish between psychoanalysis (i.e., the Freudian tradition) and psychology (i.e., the empirical tradition). In the intellectual history of empirical psychology, a distinction is made between two schools: content psychology and act psychology.  Content psychology became the dominant approach, to the extent that apparently all modern psychology descends from it. The progenitor of content psychology is said to be Wilhelm Wundt (1832 to 1920). To the extent that Moran wants to link Proust's era to the modern zeitgeist, I suggested to Moran that he investigate Wundt.  Or, at the very least, he would need to investigate both Wundt and Freud.  The modern zeitgeist seems to be derived from Wundt.  If anything, it is derived in opposition to Freud and psychoanalysis.

BTW, the distinction between the two schools of thought parallel the distinction in philosophy between analytic philosophy and phenomenology.  Indeed, the progenitor for act psychology is Brentano. Perhaps there is an analogy like this: 

Analytic Philosophy: content psychology: Wundt

Phenomenology: act psychology: Brentano

Continental philosophy: psychoanalysis: Freud.

Regardless: Moran gets Freud wrong

The problem with Moran's discussion of Freud is that Freud's model does not fit the distinction between the two types of satisfaction that Moran aims to distinguish.  Freud's model does not really contemplate humans in a state of happy contentment.  Rather, Freud sees humans as being buffeted by powerful underlying drives.  The best humans can do is try to reach a sort of temporary homeostasis until the next wave of drives comes along to push them one direction or another.

That temporary homeostasis is the "principle of constancy" that becomes a red herring for Moran.  Perhaps a good way to say this is the following: it is true that Freud uses a notion of constancy (i.e., homeostasis, i.e., equilibrium), but it is hardly unique to Freud.  I am not aware of any disequilibrium models of human behavior.  

I think the clearest explanation of Freud's model is found in Chapter 5 of Lear's Freud, 2nd edition.  What Freud is focusing on are two different paths that a person might take when they find themselves in disequilibrium (in a state of tension). One path is the path of what Moran would call act satisfaction.  By this path, the person goes into the world to satisfy their need or desire. ("intreat you to his bed, give him promise of satisfaction"). This path via the real world is what Freud calls "the reality principle." It is associated with a particular type of thinking: secondary process.

Lear explains that the other path toward homeostasis is a path that appears strange to us. This is the path of "hallucination," or fantasy, and it's associated mode of thinking is the primary process. The reason Freud models such a strange activity is that that was Freud was trying to understand in his clinic.  He was trying to understand neurosis, and neurosis is characterized as a withdrawal from reality.  It is characterized by a person spending too much of their energy perseverating and ruminating--as opposed to engaging in the world. 

What does psychic health look like in Freud's model?  This: "[Children are] meant to grow up into a strong and capable people with vigorous sexual needs and to accomplish during life all the things that human beings are urged to do by their drives." (SE 7, 223).

Ideal Peer Reviewer Enters Stage Left

In Moran's discussion of Freud, virtually every sentence is problematic from my POV. That's because every sentence flows from a basic misconception about Freud's model. Yet going sentence by sentence I don't think will work.  So I have hallucinated a new fantasy. In this fantasy, the Ideal Peer Reviewer can only tell Moran three things.  These are they:

1) you need to justify why the reader should care about Freud. Everyone these days rejects Freud.  Why should the reader care that yet another intellectual thinks Freud was wrong.  In particular, if this is an intellectual history, why are you investigating Freud alone?  Why not Wundt either instead of Freud or in addition to Freud.  

2) The principle of constancy is a red herring. It is not the same as "state satisfaction." It is not helping you with distinguishing the two types of satisfaction. It is just the concept of equilibrium, and it is difficult even to conceive of a model of human behavior that does not use some concept of equilibrium. If you want one concept to use to anchor your discussion of Freud, use "the pleasure principle" instead of the principle of constancy.  Start your discussion of Freud with a paragraph introducing the pleasure principle and the reality principle.

3) If you are still skeptical that you are wrong, and if I need to provide you one example where your discussion is most obviously wrong, I ask you to look at p. 151.  There is a sort of rubicon line on that page.  The discussion is flowing along, and then there is a shift that takes place right with the sentence "As applied to the experience of thirst ..."  As a reader, this jolted me.  Suddenly you are making what seems to be a new point: a point about the difference between (a) thirst and (b) desires and aspirations.  Here is my claim: Freud's model handles thirst the same way it handles aspirations.  A drive is making the person feel unease. That unease in one case is thirst.  Let's consider a specific example of an aspiration.  Let's take the aspiration to have an impact on the world as a writer.

First: thirst. the protagonist feels an unease related to thirst.  He has two options: he can hallucinate a glass of water.  Or he can go into the world and do something.  There are a variety of things he could try to do. He could try to chew on a table. He could try scratching his elbow. He could try ingesting some mud he found in the playground.  Over time, he learns what works and what doesn't. He learns that the best way to get this in the world is to grab a glass of water.  But other options work somewhat: having a slice of watermelon.  And others he still isn't sure about.  Will drinking a gin and tonic slake his thirst? A glass of hot water?  If the protagonist drinks a glass of water, the antagonist will reach homeostasis in regards to thirst.  But it isn't a real homeostasis.  In the Freudian model, we don't see smug complacency. Rather, there are other drives, some which push our protagonist for years, even decades. The important thing is that the drinking of the glass of water is an example of act satisfaction, and it contributes to homeostasis.

Now: Aspiration to become a great writer.  This is a longer term unease, but it is still based on drives. One possibility is that it's a sublimation of a basic sexual drive, but that part is not important.  What's important is that there is a drive, and our guy is in disequilibrium on this dimension for decades. He has this unease.  In this case, hallucination may work a bit better.  He can spend much of his day fantasizing about being a great writer.  Such fantasizing is itself enjoyable, and it may be the best our subject can do. But there are many strategies that can be attempted in the real world.  For example,write a little passage when one sees some spires in the distance.  Then show that passage to some people and see what they think. Or one could read everything Bergotte ever wrote.  Or one could try to find an interesting topic by visiting salons and gathering anecdotes that could be used later.  One could also write an essay on the philosophy of literature.  That might help. It may be that our subject spends all their time in fantasy, and ultimately is diagnosed with neurosis.  If they enter Freudian psychoanalysis, the goal of that analysis would be to move them out of their head, to restore their ability to work and love. (And, in some models, to play).

Ultimately, the aspiration is treated the same way as thirst in the model.  There is a state of tension (a feeling of unmet potential, of a need for power). Over time, by trial and error, the person comes to understand what might work.  Hallucination will work better here than in the case of thirst, but, ultimately, the first best outcome is to act in the world, to achieve homeostasis on this dimension by (logically) satisfying this thing he “is urged to do by his drives."