Plato Vs Freud Research Paper

Plato vs. Freud on Metaphysics
Plato and Freud have made great strides in their respective fields of study. Both men have made a lasting impact on the way we now as humans view the world that we live in. Plato and Freud have similarities in views that they share but they also have some differences metaphysically. Plato believes that what is ultimately real are ideas, he believes that images are imperfect representations of the perfect concepts. While Freud believes what is physically real is by the evolution of man. Freud ultimately puts his faith in what he can see and analyze in front of him instead of what he cannot. Freud developed a “talking cure” which he would let the hysterical patient talk freely about the earliest occurrences
He gave great insight to know the world around him works and functions. Plato’s ideas were used to justify some religions and certain academic subjects. Plato gave a lot to the teachers and scholars after him. “In his lifetime he was the most celebrated teacher of his day. After his death his ideas were taken up by countless other thinkers. Philo of Alexandria used Plato 's ideas to give a philosophical framework to Judaism. Early Christian writers eagerly embraced Plato 's thought as the best available instrument for explaining and defending the teachings of the Bible and church tradition. Of the Christian Platonists, St. Augustine of Hippo was the best known and most influential. Plato 's influence spread into Islam as well, through the writings of the philosophers Avicenna and Averroes.”
Freud and Plato are not just polar opposites they have things in common as well. They both thought that trouble in the human soul/mind arises when the three parts don 't work in harmony with each other. Plato thought that the key to such harmonious relationship was to yield control to the rational soul; after all, he was the founder of the rationalist program in philosophy. Freud, on the other hand, concentrated on dealing with the id by means of psychoanalytical