Psychoanalysis: Freud and Jung
One of the most important events of the 19th century is the birth and the growth of a
new science, Psychoanalysis, thanks to work of Sigmund Freud. After the graduation
in medicine, he starts to study psychiatry, using the hypnosis technique.Moreover he
makes researches on hysteria and discovers of the “unconscious”, formulating the
theory of psychoanalysis.
The “traditional” medicine of the XIX century believed that mental diseases didn’t
have to be taken seriously. However Jean-Martin Charcot and Josef Brauer started
to study the topic and developed hypnosis as a way to call back to memory forgotten
pains. Freud then cooperated with them and ended up developing his own theory of
the unconscious.
Freud understands that the main part of the mental activity happens “out” of the
conscience, into the unconscious. In these terms the consciousness is only the
visible manifestation of what is the true, deep reality of an individual. To access the
unconscious Freud initially used the hypnosis technique, but then he used it to relax
his patient and take it in the thought flow.
About the dream Freud wrote a book and he thinks that dreams are “the way that
brings the knowledge of the unconscious into psychic life”. Oneiric phenomena are
therefore the unaware revelation of human deepest feelings, emotion and of his
removed or prohibited desires.
The theory of sexuality caused a big scandal into the traditional science of the time.
In this theory he defines the concept of “libido” as the energy capable of bringing
sexual potential towards the most different objects of desire. Moreover he developes
an original theory on infantile sexuality: he destroys the traditional image of the child
as an “asexual angel” and he points out his strong sexual purposes, which he
obviously express in different forms.
Another important aspect is the so-called Oedipus Complex. This phenomenon
describes how a child has a natural and instinctive sense of bounding and admiration
towards the opposite-sex parent, while he has a dual feeling towards the other
parent.
Freud morevore considered art as a sort of analytic therapy both for the artist and
the spectator.
Jung was a Freud’s student, but there are some differences between the two
thinkers. The major difference is about the concept of “libido”: in Jung it was a
psychic energy not linked to sexuality. Moreover he introduces the concept of
collective unconscious, of complex and the division of the personality in introverted
and extroverted.
