homosexuality
I believe part of the problem is that since Freud was an atheist, he couldn't allow himself to consider that perhaps there is something beyond our biology that affects our psyche. And thus he was forced to explain everything he saw in very limited terms.
Jung, who believed in a spirit that existed seperate from the body was able to extend Freud's ideas into a body of work that I consider to be a much more complete understanding of the human psyche. It's interesting to note that Jung agonized over publishing his own ideas because he knew that it would cost him his friendship with Freud and it did. Freud did not tolerate dissenting opinons and when Jung propsed his own theories Freud more or less disowned him.
In case you haven't read much of Jung - and only his more "respectable" theories are taught in Universities these days, - then in a nutshell he proposed that each of us is undergoing a spiritual/psychological process called Individuation. In psychological terms this process can be described as our inner SELF carrying out a process of reintegrating into our conscious self all of the attributes and experiences that we have repressed. Anyway, it's interesting reading and I feel gives a much more viable explanation of who and what we are.
Take care.
.But I'll look into it.
.Thanks.
I read your whole entry and enjoyed it. First, Freud's emphasis on sexuality tapered off; that was the early, shocking part of his career -- he started his fame when he argued that "hysteria" affected men as well as women. I prefer to think of Freud apart from the terminologies and more through how his analyses work, and how his writing actually shows you how to interpret pscyhological phenomena. That's why Freud is still current and importantt -- his analysis of culture, aggression, denial (his depth theories of the human mind) still hold true. The idea that every kid is messed up in the head because of childhood sexuality, not so much.
I read your entry as being between the time when you get to a community of well-read people, who would never discount Freud immediately and ignorantly, and where you are right now. So, keep reading. You'll find your situation.
But Jung isn't "in" anymore. His theories, I find, have a blurring effect -- he's more a cultural anthropologist who doesn't peer into the individual human subject. Archetype theory was hot in literary studies in the 1960s, before the close reading of Derrida's deconstruction hit the scene, and destroyed the generalizations of the archetypes and all that, as well as the "Moby Dick symbolizes America" type thing -- the generalization is the easy answer which is actually a lie.
I believe, though, he was abusing the cocaine drug, which minimizes his credibility in the professional world, for some reason. But, if you look back, coca-cola drinkers used cocaine, in the form of their soda drink. It was used within their recipe to create addiction to use their product and became illegal, not too long ago. So, if you ask me, most shouldn't judge. But, if you ask me, his addiction to cocaine created sex-obsession and created his genious ability to obsess with the study. I believe he was truly a genious, who succeeded at leading psychology in a very solid foundation of study, perhaps due to his geniusness on drugs. But, I don't encourage anyone to follow suit, as brain cells are certainly destroyed.
