Sigmund Freud, commonly known as the father of psychoanalysis, was one of the most famous thinkers of the Twentieth Century. The importance he gave to those maladies that modern medicine could not cure embarked him on a path that allowed him to propose a new way of dealing with human suffering. While many people have criticized his theories, almost to the point where nobody actually practices psychoanalysis the way Freud intended, his thought remains a milestone in psychological studies and Western civilization in general. Due to these deformations, only texts by Freud will be used, with the purpose of studying what the author actually said, not what his commentators have interpreted.
One of the most important aspects of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory was his psychosexual view of development. This presents normal childhood progression as following a timeline that has stages and being sexual in nature. In this model, psychopathologies are caused by blockades and other interruptions in sexual energy. This model raises some interesting questions about the importance that Freud gave to the body and the psyche, which will be also presented as problems in the present text.
A great majority of Freud’s theory deals with sexuality and psychopathology, as would be natural. Therefore, three texts have been chosen for their pertinence and impact with respect to the subject. The first, Freud’s “Three essays on the theory of sexuality” (1905) is commonly cited as one of his most important works. “My views on the part played by sexuality in the aetiology of the neuroses” (1906) allows for a historical and more specified reading of the connection between sexuality and the causation of psychopathology. Finally, “An outline of psycho-analysis” (1940) will permit the study of the form that the psychoanalyst’s theory had taken towards the end of his life; as it is a framework-style text, it also allows for a quick visualization of the stages that this theory proposes.
As there are many developmental theories in psychology, the main characteristics of Freud’s psychosexual theory will be presented in order to be able to differentiate it from other lines of thinking not just from a concrete point of view, but also from a more abstract, philosophical one.
For instance, Freud’s conception of time is very complex; while many intend to reduce it down to a simple arrow of time, a more profound study of his theory impedes this reading constantly. Referring to one of his most important and famous notions, trauma as the cause of adult illness, he believed that the cause of psychopathologies were seemingly inconsequential sexual events as a small child. Therefore, this sexually-charged event that provoked disorganization in the natural development of the organism-psyche complex is constantly brought to the present.
Nevertheless, he recognizes this model as being insufficient, as there is another film-like layer that is between the trauma and the symptom. These phantasies that go between sexual experiences as a kid and adult psychopathologies were usually imaginary memories that were fabricated as a teenager. These made-up remembrances were created by childhood memories and, at the same time, converted into the symptom; thus, it mixes both past and present, while being constructed in the past: “on the one side were built up out of and over the childhood memories and on the other side were transformed directly into the symptoms” (Freud, 1906, p. 669). As one can see, Freud’s theory holds a complex conception of time, which can be thought of better as a spiral, a knot or a loop, rather than a straight line.
Finally, Freud offers a warning to interpreters of his work that has been disregarded for the most part: the phases that he theorizes are not like steps on a ladder. “It would be a mistake to suppose that these three phases succeed one another in a clear-cut fashion. One may appear in addition to another; they may overlap one another, may be present alongside of one another” (Freud, 1940, p. 2030). While referring to the oral, anal and phallic phases, this thinker makes clear that they may be intermeshed in a complex time web.
The most famous aspect of Freud’s developmental theory is its phases: oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital. These are supposed to be linear, where one step would supersede the other in a sort of progress; nevertheless, as has been discussed, this is only the vulgar reading of what Freud intended, as the phases can coexist and even overlap each other. These stages suppose the transfer of libido from one erotogenic zone to another, these being dictated by human anatomy and physical needs.
The first stage is the oral stage, wherein the lips, teeth and mucus involved in sucking take primordial importance. “The example of thumb-sucking shows us still more about what constitutes an erotogenic zone. It is a part of the skin or mucous membrane in which stimuli of a certain sort evoke a feeling of pleasure possessing a particular quality” (Freud, 1905, p. 637). Not only is it about the mouth, as such, the orifice; the inner part of the body, that which connects to the outside from within, is what constitutes this sensible zone.
After having being occupied with the rhythmic intake of the exterior, the child proceed to worry about what will stay in his body and what won’t, making way for the anal stage. In this phase, retentiveness and expulsion become the key mechanisms to canalize the influence of the libido in the body. “One of the clearest signs of subsequent eccentricity or nervousness is to be seen when a baby obstinately refuses to empty his bowels when he is put on the pot - that is, when his nurse wants him to - and holds back that function till he himself chooses to exercise it” (Freud, 1905, p. 639). As one can see, interruptions in this part of development affect order, control, aggressiveness and other aspects of psychology which are very akin to obsessional neurosis.
After having gone through this ordeal, the phallic stage focuses on the penis. “The third phase is that known as the phallic one, which is, as it were, a forerunner of the final form taken by sexual life and already much resembles it. It is to be noted that it is not the genitals of both sexes that play a part at this stage, but only the male ones (the phallus)” (Freud, 1940, p. 2030). The female genitals are not taken into account as the recognition of sexual differences is not at play yet. Nevertheless, the question of origins what drives this phase to completion.
After the tumultuous libidinal charge of the phallic phase comes the latency period, wherein the libido is kept on hold. The Oedipus complex is resolved by castration anxiety, and the boy believes that if he keeps loving his mother, his father will deprive him of his male member. “On the one hand, it would seem, the sexual impulses cannot be utilized during these years of childhood, since the reproductive functions have been deferred - a fact which constitutes the main feature of the period of latency” (Freud, 1905, p. 636). This is a period where the homosexual preference tends to be preponderant, and sublimation is the norm.
Finally, to organize what has been a mess of a development, the introduction of the genital stage organizes sexual development. The Oedipus complex and castration anxiety both have their effects on the sexual norm. The prohibitions to commit incest and towards parricide both help in the generalized conformity to the sexual norm.
Nevertheless, while there has been much talk about sexuality, one must realize that what this theorist means by the term must not be confused by the penetration of an erect penis into a vagina. Freud begins his “Three Contributions to the Theory of Sexuality” by stating the following: “The fact of sexual need in man and animal is expressed in biology by the assumption of a ‘sexual impulse’. This impulse in made analogous to the impulse of taking nourishment, and to hunger. The sexual expression corresponding to hunger not being found colloquilly [sic], science uses the expression ‘libido’” (Freud 1903). The non-existence of a word to denominate the human impulse towards sexuality obliges Freud to make use of the word libido to refer to this.
As a scientist must differentiate his theory from common sense, Freud refutes two common conceptions that would characterize the sexual drive: appearance in adolescence and a heterosexual nature. The first of these would be one of the most polemic aspects of Freud’s theory: while some aspects of culture, especially Catholicism, tend to think of children almost as angelical beings who later suffer the aberrations that sexuality brings, psychoanalytic theory posited that sexual nature was there from the onset. Furthermore, there may be deviations in references to the sexual object which may result in inversions of the libido, ending up in a homosexual inclination. Common sense dictates that the sexual act only implies the penetration of a penis into a vagina. However, as psychoanalysis shows, sexual impulse may be directed anywhere and perverse phantasies are common for normal people.
Nevertheless, some people deviate from this statistic norm and enter into the terrain which may be considered as psychopathologic. These are established from experiences as a child, which then have effects onto adult life, deviating it from its intended, normal purpose As was discussed earlier, perturbations in the normal organic development tend towards an abnormal personality.
The libido, or sexual impulse, may become caught on one stage or another, leading towards differences in the final personalities. “This process is not always performed faultlessly. Inhibitions in its development manifest themselves as the many sorts of disturbance in sexual life. When this is so, we find fixations of the libido to conditions in earlier phases, whose urge, which is independent of the normal sexual aim, is described as perversion” (Freud, 1940, p. 2031). Therefore, those who do not fully complete the steps that Freud proposes would end up with a psychoneurosis, the illness that corresponds to this theoretical framework.
Nevertheless, Freud clearly states that the election of a neurosis is a complex process. He believed that one could not just take into account heredity or constitution for the cause of neuroses; nor could one just consider those accidental factors that had taken place early in childhood. The psychoanalyst states that “better insight shows that the essence of these illnesses lies solely in a disturbance of the organism’s sexual processes” (Freud, 1906, p. 672). The deviations from normal, organic processes are what constitute a neurosis. However, these interruptions are not only biological in nature; they may also be psychical in nature.
Freud believes that psychopathology beings because sexual activity cannot come to its full, natural completion. “As I have put it elsewhere, the symptoms constitute the sexual activity of the patient” (Freud, 1905, p. 630). Due to the fact that a full realization of sexuality has been impeded, the psyche and the body develop symptoms, which serve as a substitute for this act. Thus, the importance of sexuality in Freud’s theory rests on that it is both the natural path and the makeshift cure that the psyche can embark on. As one can see, psychoanalysis does not state that sexuality is at the root of everything, as everyone may believe. What it supposes is that abnormal psyche functioning is constituted by a substitution for a failure in sexuality.
In conclusion, Freud’s psychosexual theory of development stems from his psychoanalytical theory as a whole, presenting a complex timeline wherein the child must go through different stages and the interruption of this leads to psychopathology. While many believe that Freud believed that illness is just due to childhood trauma, further investigation into this reveals that his conception of time is more like a spiral or a loop than a straight line. Thus, the phases do not strictly supersede one another, but may even overlap. In these stages, the libido becomes concentrated in different parts of the body. First, in the oral cavity; then, the anus is linked to the exterior by retention and expulsion; in the phallic stage, the penis has preponderance; the latent phase canalizes libido towards intellectual activity; and, finally, in the genital stage, heterosexual normativity comes into play, including the prohibition of incest and parricide. This standard set of events may be altered by fixations or other types of deviation of the libido, leading to psychopathology, where symptoms act as a substitute for this failed sexual act.
References
Freud, S. (1905). Three essays on the theory of sexuality. In Freud: Complete Works, 1890-1939. Retrieved from http://staferla.free.fr/Freud/Freud%20complete%20Works.pdf
Freud, S. (1906). My views on the part played by sexuality in the aetiology of the neuroses. In Freud: Complete Works, 1890-1939. Retrieved from http://staferla.free.fr/Freud/Freud%20complete%20Works.pdf
Freud, S. (1940). An outline of psycho-analysis. In Freud: Complete Works, 1890-1939. Retrieved from http://staferla.free.fr/Freud/Freud%20complete%20Works.pdf
