Sigmund Freud: life, theory, and psychological influence

Sigmund Freud: The Father of Psychoanalysis

Sigmund Freud, an obscure Viennese Jewish doctor and psychologist had an enormous impact on Western culture in the twentieth century. He institutionalized the practice of psychoanalysis, therapy or the so-called "talking cure." He oversaw the development of psychoanalysis making it into an international movement of medical practice and cultural critique. This in itself is groundbreaking. It is his tragic visions of the human condition that still defines the human psyche today. It is from Freud's work where one gets the concept of repression or in other words, what one chooses to forget from their array of experiences. These repressions are thoughts and emotions usually in the form of erotic and sexual fantasies and yearnings. One represses such emotions in order to maintain one's ego in society. Still this method of handling feelings can result in suffering and pain because one does not display one's true self to the world but what one wants the world to see.

This paper will examine Sigmund Freud's work and the nature of this theoretical revolution. This paper will also discuss the practical and political consequences of Freud's innovative ideas. This paper will achieve this by first defining Freud's innovative ideas by analyzing the foundation of psychoanalysis. This will include defining the concepts of the Ego and the Self within Freud's frame of reference. Furthermore, the paragraphs below will examine the basis of Freud's research and writings by analyzing his motivations and the underlying reasons behind his theories. This paper will explore his innovative tool of using dreams as a foundation for the "talking cure" and a mechanism for opening up a Subject's subconscious for interpretation. By using dreams as a tool, he makes the Subject comfortable and creates a non-threatening environment in which to share thoughts. Also dreams offer the Subject a chance to remove themselves from their emotions and repressions. This in turn motivates the dialogue to a new level of interpretation. They may say things that never entered their head otherwise.

What are the implications of such practices? According to Michael Roth " controversy still abounds in medical, literary, and academic circles over Sigmund Freud's and his work" (Roth, 1998 p. ix). It is because his approach was unique for the time that his ideas still remain, not only the basis of modern therapy but also continues to be tested and researched. The implications of his approach are far reaching today both socially and culturally. His focus on repression of emotions or the forgotten created controversy then but still remains innovative today. It brought discussing such matters into the limelight. Freud's studies made discussing sex and the erotic more prominent and acceptable in society as a means of exploring one's feelings. This is evident in the progress made in the fields of art such as music, painting and creative fiction. By opening these new realms, allowed for expression not seen or accepted before.

The Ego and The Subject

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines Ego as "one of the three divisions of the psyche in psychoanalytic theory that serves as the organized conscious mediator between the person and reality" (Mish, 2004 p. 398). The Ego also functions in aiding perception and the adaptation of reality for individuals. Basically how one defines one's self is directly related to its surroundings. I believe this is one reason why the word ego is synonymous with the word self in culture. Ego is centered completely on a person's perception of themselves and their environment.

In contrast, the Subject is noted as being "the mind, ego or agent of whatever sort that sustains or assumes the form or thought or consciousness" (Mish, 2004 p. 1243). This means the Subject can also be considered as Ego or at par with Ego in rating importance? Or does this mean that the Subject is just simply a by-product of the Ego?

Ego

First the Ego or "I" according to Freud is "symbolized in dreams by a fortress, or a stadium-- its inner arena and enclosure, surrounded by marshes and rubbish-tips, dividing it into two opposed fields of contest where the subject flounders" (Lacan, 1977 p. 5). This is where the idea of the Ego being based upon structure is derived from the imagery of dreams found in the human psyche. It seems one is ready to invent boundaries or compartments of complexities in order to explain or name human behavior. This happens so one can make logical sense out of experiences that may be difficult to process. Even Freud realized he made a mistake and gave Ego too much importance by "attributed powers and responsibilities to the ego that the ego was ill equipped to exercise" (Bodie, 1991 p. 18). It is because of this Freud applied structure or division of the human subject into the conscious and unconscious portions even though structure does not work with the Subject. Despite these separations even Freud admitted "the ego is not sharply separated from the Subject; its lower portions merge into it" (Bodie, 1991 p. 19).

In simple terms, it all comes down to the experiences one has and how one participates in everyday life events. Can the Ego stand in the way of this with its use of structure? Are these events perceived in a structurized manner or does passion override the reaction? It is clear with regard to freedom, the symbol of a fortress can be perceived as very restrictive like a prison. Still the human mind is a more powerful machine and seems to adjust in personality even to the most rigid of walls. It is a matter of "demanding commitment, expressing the impotence of a pure consciousness to master any situation" (Bodie, 1991 p. 6). So the phrase mind over matter resonates deeply into the notion of psychoanalytic freedom. It is within this structure created by imagery found in dreams, physical or not where the battle of the human subject is being waged (Bodie, 1991 p. 21).

Freud's Early Work and Foundation for Psychoanalysis

Freud took it upon himself to study an area untouched by medical science. He wanted to uncover areas of human emotion that remained at the time taboo to exploration. His main motivation or inspiration was his own feelings toward his family. Peter Gay writes, "there were years when Freud was trying to come to terms with his ambivalence about his father" (Gay, 1990 p. 71) and then feeling started in his early childhood. It led him in the naming of his youngest brother Alexander and this action "marries circumspection to self-assertion" (Gay, 1990 p. 71). By naming his brother after Alexander the Great, made the baby superior to his father. It was his first act of defiance. This riff between him and his father only continued his "search of concealed desires, in conflict with one another and with reality" (Roth, 1998 p. 3) and inspired him to pursue unchartered depths of the human psyche. He wanted to understand the dynamic and conflicted self-functioning within society and culture. Freud theorized that society mirrored as mechanicisms the "psychological mechanicisms that inhibit the satisfactions of our basic desires. He built upon this idea by suggesting taboos topics were rooted from the Oedipus Greek myth. He thought guilt, competition and fear all resulted from the Subject's relationship or lack there of with the father. He looked to history for meaning in issues found in his time period. He believed people forgot such matters because they were uncomfortable for the Subject to relive. He slowly developed the "talking cure" as "a model for the modern investment in coming to terms with one's past" (Roth, 1998 p. 3). Much of the success of his studies was the mindset he created for himself, as Freud needed to believe "he was struggling against the world in order to maintain his commitment to his ideas and methods" (Roth, 1998 p. 115).

Much of what he discovered from his patients, he applied to his own behavior, which would later form the foundation of modern psychotherapy. It was believed at the time "Jewish mental illness was the result of the sexual practices of the Jew, such as inbreeding, which created the predisposition for disease" (Gilman, 1993 p. 93). He was during his stay in Paris this exposure to Jewish mental illness inspired his thoughts. His theories on sexual activities stemmed from his views of the Jewish family structure. He believed if the family structure failed or collapsed would cause the family's decent into madness. To think of sexual acts "corrupted the nature of the Jewish character" (Gilman, 1993 p. 99). This was just the beginning of his formulation of ideas. By focusing on the Jewish mind, Freud created a political dimension to his work during a time in Europe when Jews were experiencing anti-Semitism. Still he pursued this new idea of hysteria. He applied this theory to himself and as a result "the idea of seeing the hysteric was tightly bound to the idea of seeing the Jew -- specifically the male Jew" (Gilman, 1993 p. 116). By defining these elements, he constructs a safe model that only applies to his people. Still it was this premise of the potential illness found in the Jewish male that shaped "the discourse of psychoanalysis concerning gender and identity.

The next step in his revolutionary study came with defining his style of psychology. He believed in determination as a construct. This was defined; as one's action is causally determined with consideration that one does not have free will. Freud took this notion a step further and deducted that it is possible to have freedom. This type of conclusion would be typical of Freud's thinking and may seem contradictory and confusing. Deterministic systems by nature are "large closed systems and induce claustrophobia" (Gay, 1990 p. 79). Still he did not believe that people were mere puppets to unknown forces beyond their control. To combat the nature of determination, Freud created stories of different scenarios to act out a Subject's experiences. He liked to invent a plausible "tale in which an individual finds himself placed in before incompatible alternatives" (Gay, 1990 p. 87). It was during these creative moments his own "regressive moods also tended to recall memories of his political radicalism" (McGrath, 1986 p. 154). He continued to branch out this idea of hysteria and sex but also wondered how to go about discussing these repressions with Subjects. He used creativity, not only stories but also the realm of dreams.

Freud concluded "his most basic theoretical assumptions and substantially altered the internal balance of emotional forces manifested in dream life" (McGrath, 1986 p. 230). By discussing dreams with the Subject "we perceive at once that it was this critical attitude which prevented the subject from reporting any of these ideas" (Gay, 1989 p. 144) and therefore remained in the subconscious. What works best is for the Subject to write down the "first unintelligible associations to aid in the investigation" (Gay, 1989 p. 144). Freud believed that by understanding images from the dream life, one could better understand the events of the awake life. He concluded "the subject of dreams by applying them to a new of psychological investigation would do excellent service in the solution of phobias, obsession and delusions (Gay, 1989 p. 143). This method became common practice and effective for both doctor and patient. Freud explored many of his own dreams and began to understand that by doing so such analysis did not bring him closer to an answer but a new way of looking at life and discussing feelings.

Sex and the Erotic (Oedipus)

Earlier the taboo nature of the Subject's sexual thoughts, erotic fantasies and urges was discussed as being intertwined and submerged in the relationship one (male) has with one's father. Freud uses the Oedipus Rex Greek myth as a foundation of explaining sexual taboo and the subject's need to express with repressed feeling. His exploration of sexuality was "directly in line with the central interests of his whole scientific career and his writings on the subject emerges in a context with strong political and religious overtones" (McGrath, 1986 p. 165). He saw a correlation between the concept of hysteria and medieval culture. In the middle Ages, hysteria played a significant role in the history of civilization. It appeared as the cause of the unexplained such as epidemics, witchcraft, possession and other contagious disease. He wanted to pursue a link between the two but later surmised "his intent was to diminish the importance of hysteria altogether" (McGrath, 1986 p. 166). He considered the role of seduction and erotic urges as being a part of hysteria. That by introducing this concept of seduction explained the Subject's fear of intimacy with the opposite sex. He later theorized the notion of repression results because of this fear. It was the death of his own father that aided him in finalizing his conception of seduction. He explained the undercurrents evident in such a relationship as being difficult on both parties. They fight acknowledgment and desire to take action. As a result, a woman will have an unspoken kinship with her father and the same is true of a male with his mother. There is a certain attraction that cannot be acted upon or recognized because of its taboo nature but yet; it still exists within the psyche. From this respect, Freud could understand a virgin Subject's apprehension to discussing sex or acting upon their feelings. He concluded for the Subject, there is an element of terror involved. Maybe they see it as a disloyalty to their parent and the unspoken urge?

Controversy

The conclusions expressed above are not with its controversy "because his discoveries could not easily be assimilated into our conventional self-image" (Roth, 1998 p. 169). What Freud surmises about the self is "we are not in control of our thoughts and emotions" (Roth, 1998 p. 169). The fact that Freud's theories provoked such criticism indicated to some that psychoanalysis was on the right track, bringing unpleasant truths to consciousness and finding ways to overcome repression of these truths. Everything constructed on his foundation and methods of therapy have been highly contested, the constructions have also served as a legacy to, and an inspiration for, some of the most important cultural developments of the twentieth century. Roth quotes L.L. Whyte as saying "Freud changed, perhaps irrevocably, man's image of himself" (Roth, 1998 p. 171). Multiple interpretations have grown out of Feud's foundation as times have changed. Feminists have protested his ideas and the concept of seduction by the father. Truly what is most important to identify here is the fact sexuality relating to culture and family is even being discussed in the first place. This challenges creative thought and raises disturbing issues of erotic urges and taboo relationships.