Sigmund Freud, "Psychology of the Unconscious": summary, analysis, reviews

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Probably, there is no person in the world who would not hear the name of Sigmund Freud and would not associate him with psychology. However, he was engaged not only in the study of the human psyche and the peculiarities of thinking. Sigmund Freud is also known as a neurologist. In addition, many people associate his name only with interpretations of dream meanings.

Although, of course, Dr. Freud was best known for his theory of psychological analysis. The theses presented in it were not only innovative and very progressive for their era, they cause lively debate even today.

Where was Dr. Freud born?

Sigmund Freud was born in the small European town of Freiberg in the middle of the century before last. It happened in 1856, in May, in a small house on Schlossergasse Street. Nowadays, it bears the name of the famous doctor.

The parents of the future luminary of psychology were engaged intrade in fabrics - his father ran a small shop. The industrial revolution, which swept through European countries and changed their economic structure, also affected the Freud family. A small business could not cope with the new conditions, and the family was ruined. In 1859 they moved to Leipzig. After living there for about a year, the Freuds went to Vienna.

On education and the beginning of professional development

At the age of nine, the future scientist entered the gymnasium, which he graduated with honors at the age of seventeen. Sigmund Freud continued his studies at the Faculty of Medicine at the Vienna Institute. In 1881, the young man received his doctorate. Deciding to initially engage exclusively in theoretical science, he worked for some time in a training laboratory under the guidance of one of his mentors. But over time, under the pressure of circumstances, he got a job at the Vienna City Hospital, in the Department of Surgery.

This area of medicine did not make any special impression on Freud, but after studying it for a couple of months, the doctor became interested in neurology. In this area, the doctor has made significant progress. The articles he published at that time in medical journals earned the doctor a reputation as a neurologist, capable, if not of miracles, of successfully diagnosing a disease and treating it - definitely.

However, this work in the hospital did not meet Freud's inner desires. In 1883, the doctor moved to the psychiatric department, starting to work under the direction of Theodor Meinert. And a year later, in 1884, he came to grips withnervous diseases. In the same year, the future author begins to study the properties of cocaine, exploring its use as an anesthetic drug.

What was the prerequisite for the emergence of the theory of psychoanalysis

1885 was a turning point in Freud's life. He decides to participate in a competition for young specialists in various fields of medicine, the purpose of which was to identify a worthy scholarship holder for training and direct internship in the French capital with Jean Charcot, who was considered at that time an undeniable authority and scientific luminary in the field of nervous diseases.

Dr. Freud won the competition. And in the same 1885, he began to practice at the Salpêtrière clinic in Paris under the direction of Charcot. His new mentor at that time was closely involved in hysteria: studying its causes and developing methods of treatment. Charcot was a proponent of therapies such as hypnosis. Freud was struck by the work of the luminary of French medicine. It was while in a Paris hospital that Sigmund Freud first identified the existence of links between problems in the sexual sphere and manifestations of hysteria and other nervous disorders.

About scientific works

The peak of Freud's scientific work came at the beginning of the last century. Having taken a great interest in Charcot's works and methods in Paris, the novice doctor continued his work in the field of nervous diseases and achieved significant results. It is his works that psychologists and neurologists use all over the world to this day, although more thanhundreds of years.

Various studies, articles and other publications of the works of this outstanding scientist have accumulated quite a lot during his life. After all, he began to present his first works on the pages of a medical journal while still a graduate student at the Vienna Institute.

Sigmund Freud himself considered his main work to be the work on the interpretation of dreams, which determines the relationship between the unconscious and the explicit, “lying on the surface” of the plot of a night dream. But for most scientists, doctors and people who are simply passionate about the peculiarities of mental processes, other works of the famous doctor are of value. Most of them were included in the collection known as The Psychology of the Unconscious. Sigmund Freud summarized these works to the idea that conscious manifestations, reactions, sensations and even actions of people are not controlled by explicit motivation, consisting of instilled norms, rules, traditions, but something completely different. This other lies in the realm of the unconscious, and the goal of any doctor dealing with nervous diseases is precisely to find it.

Psychology of the Unconscious

Freud's book is not a complete work. This is a collection that includes several scientific works of the famous doctor. Each of its constituent parts may well be considered and considered separately from the other, as completely independent. However, all the works presented in this collection are interconnected and complement each other. Therefore, it is advisable to familiarize yourself with them not separately, but by readingcomplete book.

The components of Freud's research collection "Psychology of the Unconscious" are as follows:

• "Psychoanalysis of childhood neuroses";
• "Analysis of the phobia of a five-year-old boy";
• "Three essays on the theory of sexuality";
• "Psychopathology of everyday life";
• "About a dream";
• “Problems of Metapsychology”;
• "About psychoanalysis";
• "Beyond the pleasure principle";
• Me and It.

Of course, printed editions also include parts such as a preface and a dictionary explaining the meaning of specific terms and concepts used in the book.

What is this book about?

The main theme of the collection is, as Freud himself would say, the psychology of the unconscious, that which is hidden in the human brain, but nevertheless drives all his actions, sensations, reactions. According to the theories developed by the doctor and the discoveries made by him, it is this unconscious part of thinking that, in combination with repressed memories, becomes the source, the root cause of various neurotic pathologies, specific disorders, phobias, nightmares and much more.

The book covers almost all areas of medicine in which Sigmund Freud worked. "Psychology of the Unconscious" considers such complex topics as neurosis in children, the principles of the formation of an attraction to something, the nature of motivation for actions, reactions, and people's behavior.

Provided in it astheoretical theses, and specific examples from medical practice. Such diverse content allows readers to fully understand what exactly Freud was doing.

"Psychology of the Unconscious" is a book that is interesting not only for people who study human thinking, that is, medical students, but also for those who are simply curious about the processes taking place in the brain.

What is the use of this book?

This question invariably arises not only among those who study at the faculties of psychology, but also among those interested in the processes taking place in the human mind. This is logical: after all, unlike adventure or any other fiction, books related to popular science series should not only occupy leisure time, but also be useful.

Exactly such works were published by Freud. "Psychology of the Unconscious" - an analysis of thought processes that are beyond the obvious. Of course, this book will be useful primarily to students and graduate students who plan to link their careers with the fields of medicine related to nervous pathologies and mental phenomena. Despite the fact that it is not a reference book, on its pages it is quite possible to find examples of textbook cases of pathologies and ways to get rid of them.

The benefit to a wide range of readers is that they will be able to understand themselves much better. The book will help you understand your own motives, think about their possible causes. Parents whose children are prone to neurosis will benefit from that partworks that deal with the nervous pathology of babies.

What is the most significant in the collection? Summary of contents

It is not possible to single out any one section as the main one, since they relate to various aspects.

A detailed analysis of childhood phobias and neuroses is of particular interest, since it is not presented as a theoretical doctrine, consisting of a list of theses and formulations, but is a real case from medical practice. This is extremely important for understanding how exactly the analysis methods should be used in real life conditions to diagnose pathologies, identify their causes and correct the condition of patients.

No less interesting is the section that examines the psychopathological manifestations of personality in ordinary everyday life. Much of this chapter is devoted to how unconscious true motivation affects the reactions and actions of a person. Although this information is primarily of interest to students of psychology, it is also useful to readers far from medicine who are faced with something not very clear or strange in the behavior of loved ones.

What are they saying about this book?

The works of the great scientist even during his lifetime evoked the most controversial responses both among professionally engaged in medicine and among the curious. And today, Freud evokes mixed reactions. "Psychology of the Unconscious" evokes both criticism and praise.

The responses left by people who first got acquainted withthe works of an Austrian physician and which, prior to reading, had a biased attitude towards Freudianism, based largely on anecdotes, feature films, TV series and detective literature that mention psychological analysis. Quite often people discuss not so much the book as what kind of person Freud was.

About the "Psychology of the Unconscious" reviews students in medical schools leave detailed, full of understanding of the details. Students operate in them with various terms, and on thematic forums you can often encounter very lively discussions provoked by reading this book.

But future psychologists are not the only ones who enthusiastically read and discuss the works of such a scientist as Freud. "Psychology of the Unconscious" makes people who are far from professional medicine want to share their thoughts and discuss some points.