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Throughout the ages, man has wondered about the human mind and the various types of behaviour that we are capable of. The search for the answer has led to many theories: the ancients ascribed our actions to the whims of the gods; medieval mystics blamed demonic spirits and the devil himself; while philosophers from classical Greece onwards slowly shifted the burden of responsibility onto the individual.
By the late nineteenth century, however, scientists had reduced the phenomenon of the mind to a mass of physiological processes.
Out of this environment of cold logic came Sigmund Freud.
Whilst in medical school, he became engrossed in research into the central nervous system. After receiving his medical degree, he devoted himself to psychiatry and the study of nervous diseases, eventually becoming interested in the use of hypnosis.
His research into neurotic disorders led him further away from conventional physiological explanations and into the realm of psychology, and he received much scorn for his views from the scientific community.
Freud's experiences led him to believe in the presence of an unconscious element, a part of us that functions contrary to the laws of logic that we live by on the conscious level. He saw the unconscious as the dwelling-place of childhood traumas and sexual fantasies that have been buried to avoid the pain of confrontation.
He recognised the existence of instinctual drives that originate in that dark, chaotic world, eventually being thrust into consciousness by psychic energy or libido. An unresolved part of our past, therefore, would cry for attention, using powerful images and moods in an attempt to escape into reality. Dreams, Freud concluded, were another way the unconscious tries to communicate with the everyday mind. Its task, however, is not an easy one; these powerfully-charged symbols and images (usually) make no sense to our logical way of thinking.
One of our more understandable drives is our lust for pleasure - the pleasure principle - which Freud termed id. This deep, instinctual part of us needs release and it enlists the aid of libido to contact the conscious. The aspect of consciousness most closely related to outside reality then lends a hand.
This aspect, the ego, interacts with outer reality and knows its way around. Its task, then, is to see how it can fulfil the desires of the id (through reality-testing) and to proceed in that direction. It is often the case, though, that the immediate attainment of the desired goal is not plausible, so the ego has to enforce the postponement of what the id wants achieved.
The id, knowing no logic, continues to send its unrealistic impulses to the ego, forcing the latter to build up a series of defence mechanisms to protect itself. One of these mechanisms is repression, which is when the desire is excluded from consciousness altogether; another is projection, or the process in which others become the object of the unacknowledged desires; another yet is reactionformation, or behaving in direct opposition to the impulse.
Another factor (besides bad timing) that influences the ego to call on a defence mechanism is the super-ego.
Freud saw this element as being partly unconscious and as having power equivalent to that of the id. The super-ego reflects the values of society and, in particular, parental figures. These internalised standards often compel the ego to stop certain impulses from entering consciousness, hence the need for defence mechanisms. It is often the struggle between the id and the super-ego, with the ego between them as the mediator, that gives rise to unexplainable feelings of guilt or shame; the strain on the ego can impede its progress, resulting in formation of neurotic symptoms.
These (and other) theories of Freud were, for the most part, rejected by the medical community. Nonetheless, his school of Psychoanalysis soon attracted many followers, one of whom was a young man named Carl Jung.
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5. DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN THE SEXES |
| 2. THE BIRTH OF ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY | 6. THE SHADOW |
| 3. DIFFERENCES IN OPINION | 7. PHYSICS IN ANALYTICAL PSYCHOLOGY |
| 4. THE NOTION OF CONTRASEXUALITY | 8. BIBLIOGRAPHY |
