Sigmund Freud, born 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist who became known as the founding father of psychoanalysis.
Freud qualified as a Doctor of Medicine at the University of Vienna in 1881, and then carried out research into cerebral palsy, aphasia and microscopic neuroanatomy at the Vienna General Hospital.
He was appointed a university lecturer in neuropathology in 1885 and became a professor in 1902.
In creating psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst, Freud developed therapeutic techniques such as the use of free association (in which patients report their thoughts without reservation and in whichever order they spontaneously occur) and discovered transference (the process in which patients displace on to their analysts feelings derived from their childhood attatchments), establishing its central role in the analytic process.
Freud’s redefinition of sexuality to include its infantile forms led him to formulate the Oedipus Complex as the central tenet of psychoanalytical theory. His analysis of his own and his patients’ dreams as wish-fulfillments provided him with models for the clinical analysis of symptom formation and the mechanisms of repression as well as for elaboration of his theory of the unconscious as an agency disruptive of conscious states of mind.
(Sidebar).
As redefinition is not a legitimate word, or at least it is not a word published in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, nor is the word redefined.
Accordingly, it is my conclusion that we will have to apply a little common sense to this circumstance.
According to Webster: “def·i·ni·tion,” (in context) The act or process of stating a precise meaning or significance.
Question: if psychology or psychoanalysis is neither precise or significant, does it warrant any value?
Continuing…
Freud postulated the existence of libido, …
According to Webster: “pos·tu·lat·ed,” (in context) To assume; take for granted.
According to Webster: “li·bi·do,” The psychic and emotional energy associated with instinctual biological drives.
According to Webster: “psy·chic,” 1. A person responsive to psychic forces. 2. See medium.
2.a. Capable of extraordinary mental processes, such as extrasensory perception and mental telepathy.
Logical conclusion: ..and/or, ..(my opinion) Sigmund Freud was a (soothsayer), ..and/or, ..a fortuneteller.
Continuing…
..an energy with which mental process and structures are invested and which generates erotic attachments, and a death drive, the source of repetition, hate, aggression and neurotic guilt.
In his later work Freud drew on psychoanalytic theory to develop a wide-ranging interpretation and critique of religion and culture.
(Sidebar).
Theory and interpretation, so far (at least in my considered opinion) Freud’s path in life makes no sense to me, with his proclivity for imagination and fiction, he should have been a politician.
Continuing…
Psychoanalysis remains influential within psychiatry and across the humanities. As such it continues to generate extensive debate with regard to its therapeutic efficacy, its scientific status and as to whether it advances or is detrimental to the feminist cause.
Nonetheless Freud’s work has suffused contemporary thought and popular culture to the extent that in 1939 W. H. Auden wrote, in a poem dedicated to him: “to us he is no more a person / now but a whole climate of opinion / under whom we conduct our different lives”.
(Sidebar).
Oedipus complex…
In psychoanalytic theory, the term Oedipus complex denotes the emotions and ideas that the mind keeps in the unconscious, via dynamic repression, that concentrates upon a child’s desire to sexually possess the parent of the opposite sex (e.g. males attracted to their mothers, whereas females are attracted to their fathers).
Freud was frequently photographed smoking, which he began at age 24. He smoked just cigarettes at first, and then was later introduced to cigars, which he began to smoke exclusively. He believed that they helped him to focus and enhance his ability to work. He continued to smoke despite warnings from colleagues. Freud’s excessive smoking eventually led to his death in the form of cancer in the mouth. Sigmund Freud died on September 23, 1939 at the age of 83.
Editorial: Although I have absolutely no practical experience or expertise in the field of psychology or psychoanalysis, ..I am as an “American citizen” entitled by the provisions in the First Amendment of the Constitution to both state my opinion and publish it.
The fly in the ointment of psychology and psychoanalysis is..
According to Merriam-Webster: “the·o·ry,” 1. Systematically organized knowledge applicable in a relatively wide variety of circumstances, …
(especially a system of assumptions),
..accepted principles, and rules of procedure devised to analyze, predict, or otherwise explain the nature or behavior of a specified set of phenomena.
2. Abstract reasoning; speculation.
3. A belief that guides action or assists comprehension or judgment.
4. An assumption based on limited information or knowledge; a conjecture.
According to Merriam-Webster: “as·sump·tion,” (in context)
“Something taken for granted or accepted as true without proof.”
Now to define the bee buzzing around in Freud’s bonnet…
Was Freud a latent homosexual?
..or simply a garden-variety pervert?
..and then of course we’ve all heard; …
A closing thought; “We are all provided with a brain at birth, those that choose not to use their brain, ..pay a price, ..those that choose to use their brain, ..reap endless rewards.
(I just made that up).
A closing question: How would Sigmund Freud have fared on the gong show?
The Gong Show was an amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC’s daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1980 and 1988 to 1989. The show was produced by Chuck Barris, who also served as host for the NBC run and from 1977 to 1980 in syndication. The show is best remembered for its absurdist humor and style, often awarding participants ridiculous prizes. (Source Wikipedia).
All things considered in today’s world, my best guest would be…
Truth forges understanding, I’ll be back tomorrow.
Crusader Rabbit…
pearlsofprofundity 