The world greeted Sigmund Freud, whose profound and vigilant mind became the laboratory for psychological discoveries which have shaken the complacent conventions of Western civilization (Puner 1) on the sunny day of May 6, 1856 in a little town of Freiberg, Moravia (now known as Pribor in the Czech Republic). Sigismund (later changed to Sigmund) became a firstborn in the family of five girls and three boys. He had come into the world covered with a growth of pitch-black hair, which his loving mother, Amalia Nathanson Freud, interpreted as a special sign of distinction (Puner 2). Remarkably, she was quite right at her predictions, as Freud is now known as the trailblazer of a completely new approach to the understanding of human personality and the pioneering founder of psychoanalysis science.
Freud's family had limited finances and was forced to live in a crowded apartment; however his parents made every effort to foster his obvious intellectual capacities (Rana 1). Despite of his vast interests in various fields of subject, Freud was very limited in his career choices due to his Jew heritage, though he was himself non-practicing. Freud had uneasy family relationships, and the world of reality was difficult for the child to grasp, nevertheless, when this world is a place where fantasy is more rational than fact, the child, to establish his bearings, must question (Puner 13). Given such conditions, Freud had been always interested in analysis, analyzing the world around him and the world inside him as well.
At the age of seventeen, Freud began to study medicine at the University of Vienna. Interesting, that he had first thought about studying law, but instead chose medical faculty, where he studied various subjects including philosophy, physiology and zoology. He worked at the Vienna General Hospital after he had graduated from the university and treated hysteria by the recall of painful experiences under hypnosis accompanied by Josef Breuer. In 1885, Freud went to Paris as a student of the neurologist Jean Charcot. He returned to Vienna a year later and set up in private practice, specializing in nervous and brain disorders. It was in the same year that he married Martha Bernays, with whom he had six children (bbc.co.uk). Interesting, that Martha became the person which lead Freud towards his doctorate career, as his science lab job did not earn him enough to support a family. His youngest child, daughter Anna, became a famous psychologist inspired by her father’s works.
The death of his father inspired Freud for the period of intense and productive work, which eventually lead to the publication of The Interpretation of Dreams in 1900 and of Psychopathology of Everyday Life in 1901 (Rana 2). This period also marked Freud’s publication on religion, literature, as well as his introductory lectures, which granted him a wide audience.
The Ego and the Id, which contained the finally formulated concept of his structural theory of the mind was published in 1923. Freud believed that the human’s mind is similar to an iceberg. Conscious part of our brain reminds of the tip of an iceberg, as it is visible above the surface, while unconscious part of our mind is hidden, mysterious and hard to explore. In this work he also described his constructs of the id, ego and the superego, with id being the most primitive part of our personality, ego being extremely objective and the superego being a characteristic of the personality which strives for perfection. The disparity of the above mentioned a mind structure determines the individual behavior in particular situation. Freud was also convinced that the childhood years determine our life as adults (Rana 3), and nowadays psychoanalysts still believe that childhood events and unconscious emotions, motivations and ambitions play a significant role in mental illnesses as well as in maladaptive behaviors (Cherry). The fact says that at one point of his life Freud became interested in the latent antidepressant effects of cocaine and ab initio preached its use for the vast variety of purposes (Cherry).
In late 1923 Freud suffered from cancer and seemed to be fully recovered after undergoing the surgery. Sixteen years later the history repeated itself and this time his cancer had been deemed inoperable. Freud had always been a heavy smoker and asked his doctor to help him commit suicide. The doctor gave him three separate doses of morphine and the famous psychologist died on the gloomy day of September 23, 1939 (Cherry).
Works Cited:
BBC History. “Sigmund Freud”. Historic Figures. N.d. N.p.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/freud_sigmund.shtml>
Cherry, Kendra. “10 Facts About Sigmund Freud”. Interesting and Revealing Facts About Freud. N.d.
<http://psychology.about.com/od/sigmundfreud/tp/facts-about-freud.htm>
Puner, Helen. “Sigmund Freud: His Life and Mind”. New York : Howell, Soskin, 1947.
Rana, Himmat. “Sigmund Freud” Muskingum.edu (May 1997)<http://www.muskingum.edu/~psych/psycweb/history/freud.htm>
