Freud’s discovery of psychoanalysis is a discussion that has been of great interest to me. Prior to this week, I had limited information concerning Freud. From my historical point of view, Freud was a neurologist who practiced his work effectively. He majored on the study of treatment of brain and nervous system. Upon his interaction with Charcot, he realized that the mind could have power over the body (Mc Grath 45). He made this observation as he interacted with Charcot’s patients. This marked Freud’s discovery of psychoanalysis theory.
There are important lessons, in relation to psychoanalysis, that I learnt. First, I learnt that the unconscious mind can also affect people (Freud 278). He observed that people knew very little about such ideas yet they impacted their lives. To him, slips of the tongue and dreams could be used to ascertain what is in a person’s unconscious mind. Furthermore, he believed that people may do things without awareness of the core reason why they are act as they do.
The seduction theory is another major lesson I learnt from Freud. Mc Grath (49) notes from Freud’s claims that hysteria resulted from childhood seduction. According to him, hysteria was occasioned by occurrences of premature sexual experiences that one may have encountered in the earliest stages of life. He proposed psychosexual stages of personality development. Basing on his view, one’s personality is wholly defined by childhood experiences. The stages include oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Each stage is characterized by distinctive features. His understanding of sexuality was based on all forms of pleasurable feelings practiced by the body.
Components of the human personality were another important lesson I learnt. According to Freud (282), human personality is divided into three important components: the id, ego and the superego. From his point of view, pleasure principles is what defines how one acts. The id is not limited to the external environment. It seeks to satisfy our biological demands. On the other hand, the ego operates on the reality principle. It meets the demands of the id as exhibited by the outside world. The superego is the conscience component. It is responsible for bestowing moral and societal rules to the ego. He emphasized the opinion that the super ego is the last of the components to develop. He further stated that it is majorly based on ideals of one’s childhood society. In totality, one’s personality is defined by the interaction of the three mentioned components.
However, one thing surprised about Freud. The rate at which he would quickly dismiss his thoughts was questionable. For instance, one year later after discovering the seduction theory, he came out and publicly rejected it (Schultz 17). He cited the theory as mistaken idea which might have had a fatal effect in the world of science. Moreover, he felt that the consequences of this theory would drip down to his works. To him, the theory was an error that needed not to be considered. Expectedly, his abandonment led to numerous interpretation of his work by others. However, research shows that Freud doubted his theory even at the time of its announcement.
In conclusion, Freud’s discovery on psychoanalysis was a major point of promulgation in the world of psychology. He may have had many critiques, but his school of thought has won the heart of many who have been puzzled by the diverse personality traits of a person.
Works Cited
McGrath, Michael. Freud's discovery of psychoanalysis. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.1986. Print
Gay, Peter. Freud: A life for our time. New York: W.W. Norton, 1988. Print.
Schultz, Duane and Schultz, Sydey. Theories of personality. New York, Wads Worth. Inc 2013. Print
