The Life And Works Of Sigmund Freud

Essay, Research Paper

The Life & Works of

Sigmund Freud

(1856-1939)

Introduction

Sigmund Freud; Probably the most influential activist in the realm of the study of the mind, Psychology; An influence so great that his works, ideologies and theories alike have imposed themselves upon the minds of many in this, the twentieth century, regardless of our acceptance or futile resistance. He was responsible for the articulation of theories and concepts of which everyday individuals do not even know he is the originator of. Ideologies such as the Unconscious, the relevance Sexual and Aggressive Drives under which Infantile Sexuality falls, and the “tri-partite” mind frame, consisting of the Id, Ego and Super-Ego. Since then, there are multiple manifestations of psychoanalysis in a variety of fields which may be traced directly back to Freud’s Original work.

The Life of Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud was born on May 6th, 1856, in Freiberg, Austria (although it is disputed that he may have been born on March 6th instead). He was the first of eight children born to his mother. At age four, Freud and his family moved to Vienna, where he would live and work until he died. His impact and mark would remain there forever, as he was renown for founding the first Viennese school of psychoanalysis from which all aspects and development in this field then flowed. Freud’s interest and professional training and experience were very broad. Although he was not particularly interested in becoming a physician, Freud saw medicine as a vehicle for engaging in scientific research. After being enrolled at the University of Vienna for eight years (from 1873), Freud graduated and was then engaged in 1882 later to be married in 1886. Many of his theories were based on clinical material documented while he operated a private practice to treat psychological disorders.

Two individuals who played a significant role in his life were Jean Charcot and Josef Breuer. Charcot was a French neurologist who used hypnotism to treat psychologically ill patients. Freud attempted Charcot’s methods but were unsuccessful. Breuer was an older Viennese colleague whose methods for treating neuroses, though unique, caught the interest of Freud. Breuer discovered that when he encouraged patients to talk freely without restrictions that he was able to get to the source of the problem causing the symptoms. Freud worked with Breuer and developed the idea that the source of a patient’s problems was some hidden or unresolved conflict which occurred in their past life, and the “cure” was achieved by bringing that conflict to the client’s “consciousness” in a manner in which he/she might intellectually and emotionally confront it.

At the turn of the 20th Century, Freud, after a period of self-analysis, published works such as; “The Interpretation of Dreams” (1900), “The Psychopathology of Everyday Life” (1901), Three essays on the Theory of sexuality (1905) and “Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis” (1916). Freud’s theories on Sexuality received the most resistance and caused many of his partnerships with other philosophers to deteriorate. The final and yet not any less significant of his works was his model of the mind, consisting of the Id, Ego and Super-Ego. After a life of remarkable vigour and creative productivity, he died of cancer while exiled in England in 1939. It is interesting to note that although he carried out many self-analytic tests, that he was unable to resolve his addiction to cigarette smoking; the very habit that eventually killed him.

Mental Influences

Although Freud was an original thinker, there were still influences which shaped the development of his thought. For instance, his relationship with Charcot and Breuer definitely impacted upon his thoughts but rather differently, Freud’s self-analysis was probably the greatest impact of all on his life. In this period, several repulsive and yet real facts about Freud character and past were revealed to him. These “truths” were related to his emotions towards members of his family in the aspects of sexuality and hatred and the results thereof. This was to become the basis of his theory of the Oedipus complex.

The Scientific climate in which Freud existed in also had great influence on his thought. For instance, Charles Darwin’s perception of man, was a life shaking event for people of that time, now making it possible to treat humans as objects of Scientific investigation. Freud with his enormous esteem for science, accepted this implicitly.

Another important aspect of Science that impacted on his thoughts was the principle of the conservation of energy – Helmholz stating that energy can neither be created or destroyed but only change in form. Freud then concluded that in parallel with this principle, humans consisted of psychic energy. Repression and Suppression are two examples of how Freud believed that this Psychic energy may be represented.

Ideologies

Freud’s works and ideas are vast, but among these there are some which the basis of many of his theories are grounded.

A). The Theory of the Unconscious

This is based on Freud’s idea that all human actions are a manifestation or a representation of some hidden desire or impulse. Events become conscious when “unconscious” matter arises into a level of awareness for an indi

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