Paging Dr Freud 1856 1939 Sigmund Freud the

Paging Dr. Freud… 1856 -1939 Sigmund Freud, the unconscious, and the Oedipus Complex

Freud believed that our behaviors are influenced by unconscious desires

According to Freud, one of the most powerful subconscious desires relates to a child’s attraction to the opposite sex parent.

Freud thought this was a natural part of human development. Ø Boys, in Freud’s view, develop intense love for their mothers Ø As boys grow older, the father asserts his role as the mom’s companion, and the young boy distances himself from his mother, out of fear.

Fear of what? Ø O. K. now this is where it gets a little wacky. Ø According to Freud, little boys first desire to challenge and kill their fathers. However, when dad steps up, the child begins to fear that his father may castrate him if he gets too close to mom.

Ø In a mentally healthy young man, these infantile desires and fears are sublimated (that means pushed deep into the unconscious). Ø The boy then later transfers his affection onto the woman of his dreams.

But, sometimes things go wrong…

Ø If the proper separation from mother does not happen, then boys may have difficulty finding a wife who measures up to mom. Ø Or, they may choose a wife who is just like mom.

Of course, all of this is unconscious, unless a psychoanalyst helps the patient bring these impulses to the conscious mind for examination. Ø Freud’s couch

Ø Freud thought that unconscious desires manifested in dreams, jokes, and slips of the tongue, now called Freudian slips. Ø Whenever a friend accidentally slips and says something unintended, it is traditional and expected to ridicule him/her by saying, “Paging Dr. Freud!” That way your friend will cringe in embarrassment.

T. V. ’s most famous Freudian slip…Ross says Rachel’s name when taking his wedding vows with his bride--Emma!

Ø Oedipus Rex, Freud thought, brought to light everyone’s darkest, secret childhood thoughts: l “While the poet (Sophocles) as he unravels the past, brings to light the guilt of Oedipus, he is at the same time compelling us to recognize our own inner minds, in which those same impulses, though suppressed, are still to be found. ”