Sigmund Freud was a deeply inspired man, living in repressed times. His surroundings and personal alienation lead to his macabre theories. He witnessed both WWI and the Great Depression, the indelible influence of these hard times permeate his discourse.
Freud was well versed in the work of other philosophical scholars, but was cynical about much of their work, notably he challenged the Enlightenment scholars. His deep pessimism and dark vision of humanity lead him to believe it was impossible for humanity to ever discover and understand the extent of the universe. He alleged that the sub-conscious controlled humankind, therefore making development and progress impossible.
Although Freud attacked the content of Plato’s tripartite self, he valued the concept and utilised it to create the ‘Freudian Personality’.
The first part of Freud’s personality was the ‘Id’. The Id is the dominant,
demanding division of the tripartite. It is the amalgamation of sex and aggression, seeking only to gain pleasure and avoid pain. The malevolent and insatiable Id has been ominously described as the ‘reservoir of the unconscious’ and a ‘cauldron of seething excitations’.
The Id relentlessly besieges what is known as the ‘Ego’ or ‘Self’. This is the voice of reality and reason; endeavouring to placate and gratify the incessant demands of the Id.
From the ‘Ego’ stems the ‘Superego’. This is the ‘impossible standard of perfection’ we strive for; we impart idealistic social appropriations based around structures, standards and morality to the superego; hence this acts as the ‘policeman in our heads’. An individual’s superego can also be governed by the ideologies of religion. Powerful teachings such as ‘Love your Enemy’ can cause internal conflict between Id and superego. As a consequence of falling short of the ‘impossible standard of perfection’ the superego punishes with guilt.
Freudian Philosophy, like much modernist art and writings was dark and cynical in its approach. He supported this cynicism by defining his personal reasoning for it. Freud’s ideas are centred on the ‘irrationality’ of man, this is tantamount to Freud’s pessimism; he believes this irrationality makes man just inclined to hurt one another. He says this combined with our constantly decaying bodies, bad fortune and human interaction justify his pessimism. He asserts that our subconscious effectively controls us, but we live under the guise of a ‘collective superego’. His views have echoes of Rembrandt; whose work invariably portrayed a glimpse of light surrounded by blackness and overshadowing.
Freud noted ways in which man could cope with the Id’s insatiability. Sublimation of bodily urges can be attained by focusing attention onto something such as sport or work, although this is a mild solution. Less recommended methods such as intoxication (something Freud engaged in frequently, being a notable cocaine user) and isolation; the alienating yourself from society. The latter method is something that appealed to Freud and it alludes to his philosophy that ‘hell is other people’.
Freud conducted his ‘psychoanalysis’ through various methods. He used hypnosis as well as free association. This allowed people to talk freely without any influence from the analyst; Freud believed this was key to uncovering the subconscious. In addition to this he also asserted that dreams were fundamental to the understanding of the ID. He believed dreams were a method of ‘wish fulfilment’ and each had intrinsic sexual connotation. Dreams working as a manifestation of the ID can help to sublimate the ID’s dominance.
Freud was a contentious psychologist and has had many critics since. Many proclaimed Freud as a charlatan and a plagiarist, claiming his idea were falsified, stolen or lacked a scientific basis. William Reich’s criticisms denounced Freud’s doomy outlook, claiming humans were innately good and sex was key to good human nature.
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