Theoretical differences between Freud and Jung's psychological approaches

¶ … Theoretical Differences Between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud

One of the most notable theoretical differences between Freud and Jung was Jung's belief in the concept of the collective unconscious, or the notion that the structure of the unconscious had a historical and cultural as well as a personal dimension. Jung also believed that Freud placed too much emphasis on sexuality as the primary driving force behind human behavior.

Collective unconscious

Freud conceptualized the unconscious as being divided between the id, ego, and superego. The id was the source of primitive impulses, the ego strove to fulfill the needs of the id while the superego exercised control over the ego in response to external societal demands. These constructs were based upon experiences in the individual's own life. In contrast, "Jung likened the collective unconscious to a reservoir which stored all the experiences and knowledge of the human species" ("Freud v. Jung," 2014). Rather than the id, ego, and superego, Jung viewed the structure of the human mind as consisting of the ego, a personal unconscious of private associations, and also a collective unconscious of archetypes shared by all human beings ("Freud v. Jung," 2014).

Q2. Antisemitism and Freud

Even if Freud had not been Jewish, he would likely have met with some resistance given the sexual nature of his theories and his radical questioning of the dominant models of analyzing mental illness as physical (hysteria was thought to be caused by problems with the female reproductive system before Freud, for example). Freud also wrote Moses and Monotheism, analyzing the perspective of the Jewish religion from a psychoanalytic perspective. Freud was not a religious Jew but his Jewishness infused his perspective and many of Freud's early followers were Jewish themselves (although not Jung, who later broke with Freud entirely).

Q3. Two injustices that women have historically incurred as patients

Women's sexual desire was often viewed as abnormal, given the common cultural norm that women were not supposed to be as interested in sex as males. Conversely, when women were sexually abused, they were often not believed and their experience was cruelly seen as a fantasy or wish fulfillment versus the trauma that it actually was. Normal psychology and physiology is often viewed as male and women have often been viewed as 'problems' or aberrations of maleness rather than as normal: for example, Freud's concept of penis envy which views women's recognition that she does not have a penis as traumatic. Maleness is seen as normal while femaleness is viewed as a deviation.

Q4. Knightley's character

In the film A Dangerous Method, rather than observing an appropriately distanced relationship between analyst and patient, Jung and Sabina enter into a relationship which partly replicates the abuse she suffered as a child at the hands of her father. She also participates in Jung's own practice in a manner that blurs the patient-health provider barrier. This would be considered completely unethical today. Jung also acted as an advisor to her thesis which was partly based upon their relationship (i.e., the need to break taboos). However, there may have been some benefit, the film suggests, given the repressive nature of Victorian society. Simply being able to talk about sexuality at all within a non-judgmental context like free-association was useful. Jung's theory of archetypes, including the idea that males and females both shared the same collective unconscious, was valuable in breaking down some of the more hardened gender stereotypes of the day.