In Reading Lessons, An Introduction to Theory, Scott Carpenter explains that “psychoanalysis is a lot like reading. It is, though, a particular kind of reading, and one that is often intensely personal” (67). The conscious vs. the unconscious is one of the concepts of psychoanalysis that are considered while doing a psychoanalytic literary reading. In the conscious vs. unconscious concept, “mind” was linked to both consciousness (rationality) and unconsciousness (irrationality). Carpenter describes that “[Freud] was in a sense responsible for deconstructing this model of the Mind” (69). First, Freud asserted that “consciousness (rationality) was in fact the exception in mental processes, and that the irrational (the unconscious) dominated our psyche” (Carpenter 69). Then, Freud suggested that “even conscious is not the rational force it believes itself to be. Actions, ambitions, and interests we may be inclined to think perfectly reasonable may be motivated by causes we do not recognize” (Carpenter 69). In addition, Carpenter interprets that Freud created “a monster: a consciousness that was both rational and irrational, an unconscious that was both concealed and revealed” (69). After that, Carpenter describes that one of the most effective tools of psychoanalytic interpretation is “the idea of repression, which Freud saw as the very cornerstone of psychoanalysis” (69-70). He also explains Freud definition of repression as “the process by which we push out of mind thoughts
Repression is a process of continual re-working on the latent dream-thoughts to distort or unrecognizable forms. During the state of repression, the censorship is relaxed and therefore the wish can be presented free. However the relaxed censorship still has control of the material and the material must submit to certain alterations (166) to satisfy the repression level. The obscurity of dreams is due to the censorship between the unconsciousness and consciousness. That is why repression exists “What is rejected by the censorship is in a state of repression (166)” so dreams can be regarded as undisguised wish fulfillments. In Freud’s hypothesis, there are two thought-constructing agencies in our mind, the first is in the unconscious and the second agency has free access to the consciousness. In between the first and the second agency, there is a censorship, which is a conflicting force opposing each other. It acts as a guard preventing certain repressed emotions or thoughts from coming to the surface. During our sleep the censorship is relaxed for some reasons, thus the repressed material can no longer be held back. Even though the censorship is relaxed, it still exists therefore a compromise between two agencies is established.
Following the publication of Freud’s ‘Papers on Technique’ between 1912 and 1917, there have been papers and symposia on the subject. Four symposia in 1937, 1948, 1958, and 1961 were devoted to the examination of therapeutic results of psychoanalysis, the mechanisms behind its curative factors, variations in technique and the ego-psychological approach to interpretations (Rosenfeld, 1972, 454). In 1934, James Strachey published his paper on “The Nature of the Therapeutic Action of Psychoanalysis,” which has since been considered one of the most seminal works on the subject. He holds that his paper is “not a practical discussion upon psychoanalytic technique,” and that “it’s immediate bearings are theoretical” (Strachey, 1934, 127). However, as Herbert Rosenfeld points out in his 1972 critical appreciation of Strachey’s paper, “this is clearly an understatement; the paper both challenges one’s clinical experience and has important clinical implications even though actual case material is not quoted” (Rosenfeld, 1972, 454). It would not be difficult to summarize Strachey’s main points regarding therapeutic action and mutative interpretation, and it would prove similarly sterile to simply compare his ideas with the views of other psychoanalysts, contemporaneous and contemporary. Instead, as Strachey concerns himself primarily with the structural nature of mutative change, this paper will aim to delineate a more in-depth exploration of the way different structures of the
The Freudian Regression theory states that Psychological repression, “is the psychological attempt made by an individual to repel one's own desires and impulses toward pleasurable instincts by excluding the desire from one's consciousness and holding or subduing it in the unconscious”. Sigmund Freud believed that In order to face problems in life, the ego employs defense mechanisms. These mechanisms function unconsciously to keep away unpleasant feelings. Repression was the first defense mechanism that Freud discovered and is thought to be the most important. Repression is one of the unconscious mechanisms employed by the ego to avoid a disturbing thought from being conscious. Normally the thoughts that are repressed are those of guilt. Freud believed that repression could sometimes have two stages which had to do with the aspects of personality “ego” and “super ego” and the individual’s sense of “good” and “bad”. The first stage of Repression which is called “Primary Repression” is realizing and determining what is good and what is bad The Second stage of repression starts to take place when a person notices that acting on some desires could cause anxiety. Repression is seen in “The Story of an Hour” and in “The Yellow Wallpaper” in different ways. We can see that in “The Yellow Wallpaper” Jane is a depressed woman who can’t handle to be alone
Freud did not design the suggestion of the conscious versus the unconscious mind; however he was responsible for making it well-liked. The conscious mind within what you are conscious of at any particular moment, your show perceptions, memories, ideas, fantasies and feelings. The biggest portion, however, being the un-conscious. The unconscious incorporates things that are not easily available towards perception, incorporating out motors or instincts and things that we cannot carry towards glance at, such as memories and feelings associated with trauma. According towards Freud’s theories, the unconscious is the cause of our motivations. (Stafford-Clark, 1997)
Freud’s unconscious and conscious systems are related to different functions of the three main structures of the mind, the id, the ego, and the superego. According to Freud, the traditional idea of
Slater gathers strength from Freud’s thought while concluding her article that, “Freud once defined repression quite benignly as a refocusing of attention away from unpleasant ideas”.
There are many thoughts or factors that go into how we judge and treat others that we may not be aware of. The book breaks them down into two categories unconscious and conscious thoughts. Our unconscious brain is gathering information from a very small age and continues to constantly work to help you understand what is going on in the world around you. Our unconscious brain is programed to stereotype from birth. An example of this is how infants at three months can distinguish faces of different races from their own. They tend to prefer the faces of their own race over others which was determined by how long the infant looks at the different faces (p128). This was not taught by a parent or others which brings to our attention that some stereotyping
Freud created the Psychodynamic Approach to explain behaviour. Within it, he describes that there are 3 components of the human mind: The conscious, Pre-conscious and Unconscious. The conscious is the part of the mind which is in our awareness; it contains behaviours and desires which we are aware of. The pre-conscious is the part of the mind between the conscious and unconscious, it contains items such as memories and desires which we are not currently thinking about but can easily bring to conscious awareness. Lastly is the unconscious. This part of the mind is
Psychoanalytic criticism originated in the work of Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, who pioneered the technique of psychoanalysis. Freud developed a language that described, a model that explained, and a theory that encompassed human psychology. His theories are directly and indirectly concerned with the nature of the unconscious mind. Through his multiple case studies, Freud managed to find convincing evidence that most of our actions are motivated by psychological forces over which we have very limited control (Guerin 127). One of Freud’s most important contributions to the study of the psyche is his theory of repression: the unconscious mind is a repository of repressed desires,
to Freud is "the censor which allows nothing to pass without excersizng its rights and making such modification
Sigmund Freud created strong theories in science and medicine that are still studied today. Freud was a neurologist who proposed many distinctive theories in psychiatry, all based upon the method of psychoanalysis. Some of his key concepts include the ego/superego/id, free association, trauma/fantasy, dream interpretation, and jokes and the unconscious. “Freud remained a determinist throughout his life, believing that all vital phenomena, including psychological phenomena like thoughts, feelings and phantasies, are rigidly determined by the principle of cause and effect” (Storr, 1989, p. 2). Through the discussion of those central concepts, Freud’s theory of psychoanalysis becomes clear as to how he construed human character.
The psychoanalytic perspective, is the outlook that behavior and personality are effected by the conflict between one’s inner dreams n and expectation of society. Most of this conflict occurs in unconscious, which is outside the knowledge of an individual. Renowned psychologist, Freud established the psychoanalytic theory as an explanation for perplexed phenomena such as the meaning behind dreams, slips of the tongue, and behavioral reflex reactions to stressful situations. The unconscious is a primary focus in psychoanalytic theory due to its typical development in childhood and the ways in which it influences nearly every detail of an individual’s life. The unconscious mind also holds unvented memories and unexpressed urges that make their process into the conscious mind through a variety of different means. However, topographical theory of the mind states that conscious, preconscious, and unconscious serve as motivating forces in human behavior. Corsin & Wedding (2011) define the conscious as mental activity which individuals are fully aware of, preconscious as thoughts and feelings that could be easily brought to mind and unconscious as thoughts, feelings, and desires of which one is unaware of.
Freud viewed the unconscious mind as the primary source of human behavior. Freud saw the conscious mind as only the “tip of the iceberg” of the mind, because people are not always conscious of every decision they decide to make. For example, you may consciously think ‘I’m thirsty.’ and drink water, but according to Freud, that only scratches the surface of the decisions we make. According to Freud, the unconscious mind contains “significant” and “disturbing” thoughts and experiences that we need to keep out of the conscious mind. Traumatic events would be one such example of a thought that needed to be kept out of the conscious mind, and therefore was
Undoubtedly Sigmund Freud is the father of psychoanalysis. He was an influential thinker of the early twentieth century who elaborated the theory that the mind is a complex energy-system and the structural investigation of which is the proper province of psychology. Freud articulated and refined the concepts of the unconscious, infantile sexuality and repression and he proposed tripartite account of the mind ‘s structure, all as part of a radically new conceptual and therapeutic frame of reference for the understanding of human psychological development and the treatment of abnormal mental conditions. Freudian approach can be
At the age of 40 in 1896, Sigmund Freud introduced the world to a new term- psychoanalysis (Gay 1). Psychoanalysis is a method of treating patients with different nervous problems by involving them in dialogues which provide the physician with insight into the individual’s psyche. These dialogues provided the basis for Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, which “attempts to explain personality, motivation, and psychological disorders by focusing on the influence of early childhood experiences, on unconscious motives and conflicts, and on the methods people use to cope with their sexual and aggressive urges” (Weiten 363). Part of this theory involves the structure of the mind. This is a concept that touches