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Psychosexual theory of Sigmund Freud
Psychosexual theory of Sigmund Freud
Psychosexual theory of Sigmund Freud
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Recommended: Psychosexual theory of Sigmund Freud
A Critical Examination of the Sexual Life of Man In Sigmund Freud
1.0 INTRODUCTION
It is a word that rings a bell, it penetrates all cultures and
overwhelms all humanity. It means many things to many people; to some,
it is sacred and should be treated with respect. To others, it is
pleasurable and should be lured to without repression; expressed it is
worded "human sexuality".
Reiterating the central place which sexuality occupied in the life of
man, Dietrich writers:
Sex … as contrasted with other departments of bodily
Experience is essentially deep. Every manifestation
of sex produces an effect which transcends the physical
sphere and in a fashion quite unlike the other bodily
desires involves the soul deeply in its passion …
(Dietrich, 1935:12-14)
There is a crusade carried out to give sexual enlightenment to the
youths and those who are ignorant of this all important and integral
aspect of man. In this crusade some inquisitive minds may come in
contact with some erroneous opinions that - claims to be authority on
the subject. Therefore our concern here is to expose and criticize
some of these erroneous opinions on human sexuality; so as to prevent
frail, emotional and gullible minds against easy assimilation of such
misgivings especially when it is not compatible with the injunctions
of moral standards. One of such erroneous doctrines was postulated by
Sigmund Freud, who is our cynosure in this work. Sigmund Freud
extended the meaning of sexuality to include early childhood sucking
for nourishment and evacuation of the content of the bowel.
Consequently, he constructed the doctrine of psychosexual...
... middle of paper ...
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Sigmund Freud was an explorer of the human mind and the unconscious desires that are embedded in the brain. In his method of psychoanalysis, he explained human behavior. The most important aspects of psychoanalysis are the unconscious desires, the id, ego, super ego, and the Oedipus complex. Also included are the aspects of dreams, defenses, and the influence of childhood experiences. Freud also used his theory to treat psychological disorders. Psychoanalysis can be seen in literature if the reader can ask the right questions while analyzing. Psychoanalysis explains human behavior and development, and can be seen in different forms of literature.
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Sigmund Freud believed that desire had to do with a sense of connectedness or fullness and that all desire goes back to the child’s original desire for the mother, particularly the mother’s breast. This is as the mother is the first object of love with who a child identifies and therefore has created a bond and desire to remain forever as one with the mother. Freud alines desire towards the mothers breast, as the breast is depicted as a figure of nutrition, comfort and safety and is essential in determining the emotional and sexual development of the child. The first couple of years of a child's life it has no sense of differentiation between it self and its mother as it has yet to developed a sense of identity or psyche, this is a result of the gratification that the child experiences at the mothers breast.
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Magnavita, J. J. (2002). Theories of personality: Contemporary approaches to the science of personality. New York: Wiley.
Sigmund Freud developed the psychosexual stages of development to describe the chronological process of development that took place from birth through later adulthood. The stages of psychosexual are oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. Freud developed that as children grow they progress from self-pleasing sexual activity to reproductive activity. Through this developmental process one will develop adult personality. Freud put much emphasis on sexual context of how ones libido, which is one sexual desires played a role in each stage of development. Freud emphasizes that individuals will strive to obtain pleasures in each stage of development, which becomes the basis of ones personality.
Sigmund Freud, a noteworthy trailblazer of modern-day philosophy, developed a deterministic view on human nature based on instinct and personality. Unlike other theories, Freud considers us not as humans, but animals with inborn biological drives: a complex species with primitive urges. These urges, he says, are only kept under control by the pressures between peers and the repression of society. Though the word “instinct” can relate to a wide range of impulses, Freud narrowed it down to four main drives: Self-preservation, aggression, the need for love, and the impulse to attain pleasure and avoid pain. These topics along with the model of the psyche embedded within the principles of pleasure and civilization form the most comprehensive theory of personality and human nature ever developed.
In the video “Psychoanalytic Theory,” they talk about the theory, which states that our childhood experiences and unconscious desires influence our overall behavior. The founder of the psychoanalytic theory is Sigmund Freud who is actually not a psychologist but a neurologist. In 1855, Freud went to Paris, France to study hypnosis which lead him towards psychopathology. Psychopathology is the branch of medicine that deals with the causes and processes of mental disorders (“Psychopathology”). Everyone’s personality has memories, beliefs, urges, drives, and instincts that we are not always aware of that makes up the subconscious in the major driving forces behind Freud’s instinctual theory is a concept of libido. Libido is a natural energy
For Freud, psychosexual theory occurred when personality arises, as it tries to resolve conflicts between unconscious sexual and aggressive impulses and the societal demands to suppress these impulses. In general, psychoanalytic theorists are permeated with notions of human development, and how the child changes during the course of his maturation in an explicit and implicit perspective.
Sons and Lovers,(1913) originally titled “Paul Morel”is largely autobiographical and it is a psychological realistic representative work. It has a strong autobiographic air, so it is called the best representation of Sigmund Freud’s “Oedipus Complex” theory by critics. As modern literature theory progresses, researchers have realized that the substantial content of Sons andLovers cannot be summarized by “Oedipus Complex”. As a growth novel, the hero—Paul’s growth is indispensable from Mrs Morel—his mother; Miriam—his first lover; Clara—his second lover. These three women constitute a firm support from soul, spirit, and flesh, and support Paul to pursue his so-called perfect humanity, to become a real man. Even though Daniel wrote
The theory does a good job at delineating the stages of psychosexual development; our childhood has a great influence on our personalities. Referring to Freud’s ‘psychosexual stages’, it is very clear that parents’ role in an infant’s life is the foremost step to structure the personality. Not to forget, the oral and anal stages are focal fundamental to character traits in a person’s behavior. The inner ‘instincts’ of sexuality and aggression meeting with the socially acceptable norms creates a conflict zone, wherein it is decided what we are to do and what we would become.