What Is Freud’s Unconscious Theory and How Is It Applied in the Art Work of Dada/ Surrealist Artists? Essay Example
What is Freud’s unconscious theory and how is it applied in the art work of Dada/ surrealist artists?
Sigmund Freud was a Jewish Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis. Freud went on to develop theories about the unconscious mind. The concept of the unconscious theory was central to Freud’s ideas of the human mind. He first introduced his ideas around the unconscious theory when trying to explain what happens to ideas that are repressed but remain in the mind.
In Freud’s original outline of the main principles to the theory, he believed the mind was made up of 3 systems – the unconscious, preconscious, and the conscious. The unconscious part of the mind is made up of hidden desires, impulses or wishes of which Freud believed were mostly sexual and sometimes destructive in nature. This part of the mind is seen as being repressed. It is the place where we put all the things that the outside world doesn’t allow us to look at as they are formed from sexual desires and urges that are not fit for the society we live in. A lot of our past history and childhood memories also remain here. Supressed material in the unconscious, such as these memories, are blocked deep in our psyche and therefore cannot be accessed directly. The preconscious refers to the information in a persons mind just below consciousness. It contains all the ideas and memories capable of becoming conscious and can be recalled relatively easily when needed. It operates in a more controlled, disciplined manner than the unconscious and it takes the demands of reality and everyday life into account as well as being able to tolerate delays of satisfaction. The conscious mind is aware of its thoughts and actions. This part of the mind is where all conscious though processes occur. It is the source of conscious thinking, ideas and understanding and is concerned with logical reality and civilized behavior. Freud believed that consciousness was only a small part of mental life.
Sigmund Freud was a Jewish Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis. Freud went on to develop theories about the unconscious mind. The concept of the unconscious theory was central to Freud’s ideas of the human mind. He first introduced his ideas around the unconscious theory when trying to explain what happens to ideas that are repressed but remain in the mind.
In Freud’s original outline of the main principles to the theory, he believed the mind was made up of 3 systems – the unconscious, preconscious, and the conscious. The unconscious part of the mind is made up of hidden desires, impulses or wishes of which Freud believed were mostly sexual and sometimes destructive in nature. This part of the mind is seen as being repressed. It is the place where we put all the things that the outside world doesn’t allow us to look at as they are formed from sexual desires and urges that are not fit for the society we live in. A lot of our past history and childhood memories also remain here. Supressed material in the unconscious, such as these memories, are blocked deep in our psyche and therefore cannot be accessed directly. The preconscious refers to the information in a persons mind just below consciousness. It contains all the ideas and memories capable of becoming conscious and can be recalled relatively easily when needed. It operates in a more controlled, disciplined manner than the unconscious and it takes the demands of reality and everyday life into account as well as being able to tolerate delays of satisfaction. The conscious mind is aware of its thoughts and actions. This part of the mind is where all conscious though processes occur. It is the source of conscious thinking, ideas and understanding and is concerned with logical reality and civilized behavior. Freud believed that consciousness was only a small part of mental life.