Psychology: Sigmund Freud

Introduction

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is widely regarded as the father of modern psychoanalysis. His

(controversial) concepts of repression, the unconscious, infantile sexuality and the tripartite structure of the mind were a fundamental departure from the understanding of the human mind that existed in his time. Most contemporary schools of psychoanalysis can trace their basic roots to Freudian psychoanalysis. (Thornton, 2014)

Michel Foucault (1926-1984) is commonly considered a postmodern thinker or a poststructuralist. He was an independent thinker who re-examined some of modernity’s most cherished principles; He critiqued the “subject as a foundation of epistemology

Latency: In this phase, the individual channelizes sexual energy into activities such as school work and hobbies such as music or dance.

3. Adult: Sexual energy is driven to genital and reproductive outlets.

If there is the absence of a smooth transition between these stages, then there is a lapse in normal growth. For instance, an inability to externalize bodily instincts may result in adult narcissism. (Chaudhuri, Class Notes, 2014)

Tripartite Structure of the Mind

Freud says that the mind has three parts -1. Id: This is the ‘raw’ version of the mind that is governed completely by unconscious processes. It is driven primarily by the fulfilment of life instincts from pleasure principles.

2. Ego: This is the rational part of the mind that is driven by reality principles. It is the frontier between the conscious and the unconscious. Its role is to take internal stimuli and associate them with external objects.

3. Super Ego: This part of the mind forms the conscience of the personality. It encapsulates the collective conscience and the norms and rules of society. (Lapsley &

Stey, 2011)

Psychoanalysis as a Therapy

A natural outcome of Freud’s study of the human mind was a method of clinical treatment

The third kind of Foucault’s objectification i.e. subjectification, is seen in the way Freud clinically applied his psychoanalysis to his patients. The patient was allowed to discover the source of her symptoms under the supervision of the psychoanalyst, who took the role of an authority figure.

By talking freely to her psychoanalyst, the patient was able to bring past traumatic experiences that were hidden in her unconscious, to the conscious level. This externalization of emotions then helped the patient to mitigate the symptoms of her neurosis.

The theory of repression is both a subjectification as well as a scientific classification. It can be termed as scientific classification because it objectifies the action of suppression of certain emotions in order to study a person’s mental health. It can also be called subjectification because in the Freudian school of psychoanalysis, the symptoms of a neurotic person will abate only when the patient come to terms with the traumatic experiences that are being