Sigmund Freud Theory
‘A’ Level Philosophy and Ethics Notes
Conscience - Freud
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) Freud was an Austrian doctor who had a number of troubled middle class Viennese ladies. He had a private practice in Vienna, where he developed his theories about the development of the mind. He developed the term Psychoanalysis, and also coined many of his other technical terms. Some of these terms have become widely known, though sometimes their original meanings have become changed! He began to develop his ideas as he worked with hypnosis as a treatment for hysteria in Paris. His mentor (a French Physiologist called Jean Charcot) was convinced that the hysteria that he was treating was psychical in origins. Charcot believed that ideas and beliefs could have a physical effect on a person. Repression Freud believed that a person can lose complete control of their mental states through a process called Repression. The process caused a change in the mental state that could lead to mental illness. In particular, the repression of early sexual experiences could have a damaging effect on a person:
A young child is told off by its mother for touching itself – “Don’t do that – it’s dirty!” The child comes to feel that feelings of a sexual nature are “dirty”, and tries to push the feelings into their subconscious The sexual feelings are now repressed. These repressed feelings may cause mental imbalance, leading to possible illness.
Freud developed this idea through some of the discussions with his patients. He began to consider the idea that infants develop sexual feelings for their parents. He based this idea on an experience that he remembered during a session of self-analysis. He recalled feeling sexually aroused when seeing his mother naked. The trauma of such an experience causes “neurosis”. Neurosis
A mental illness associated with feelings of anxiety developed through having to deal with mental conflicts. The distress experienced can to an obsessivecompulsive disorder, or
Conscience - Freud
Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) Freud was an Austrian doctor who had a number of troubled middle class Viennese ladies. He had a private practice in Vienna, where he developed his theories about the development of the mind. He developed the term Psychoanalysis, and also coined many of his other technical terms. Some of these terms have become widely known, though sometimes their original meanings have become changed! He began to develop his ideas as he worked with hypnosis as a treatment for hysteria in Paris. His mentor (a French Physiologist called Jean Charcot) was convinced that the hysteria that he was treating was psychical in origins. Charcot believed that ideas and beliefs could have a physical effect on a person. Repression Freud believed that a person can lose complete control of their mental states through a process called Repression. The process caused a change in the mental state that could lead to mental illness. In particular, the repression of early sexual experiences could have a damaging effect on a person:
A young child is told off by its mother for touching itself – “Don’t do that – it’s dirty!” The child comes to feel that feelings of a sexual nature are “dirty”, and tries to push the feelings into their subconscious The sexual feelings are now repressed. These repressed feelings may cause mental imbalance, leading to possible illness.
Freud developed this idea through some of the discussions with his patients. He began to consider the idea that infants develop sexual feelings for their parents. He based this idea on an experience that he remembered during a session of self-analysis. He recalled feeling sexually aroused when seeing his mother naked. The trauma of such an experience causes “neurosis”. Neurosis
A mental illness associated with feelings of anxiety developed through having to deal with mental conflicts. The distress experienced can to an obsessivecompulsive disorder, or