Carl Jung & Sigmund Freud

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychologist, the founder of analytical psychology. Early in his career, Jung was a protege of Sigmund Freud, but the two split over widening differences in their theories - most notably the nature of the unconscious. Jung introduced a number of important psychological concepts, including the collective unconscious, archetypes, and individuation.

ARCHETYPE

The collective unconscious is expressed through a variety of archetypes, universal symbols that exist in a wide range of cultural traditions. Examples of these archetypes include the Shadow, the Trickster, and the Great Mother.

ANIMA/ANIMUS

Probably the most important of the archetypes are those of the Anima (the feminine side of men) and the Animus (the masculine side of women). Jung uses the personalities of four women (Eve, Helen, Mary and Sophia) to describe the Anima.

EXTROVERT / INTROVERT

Jung coined the terms extrovert and introvert, contributing significantly to the study of human personalities. The Myers-Briggs personality test is an extension of Jung’s theories of personality. Jung explained these personality types in his book, Memories, Dreams, Reflections.

SYNCHRONICITY

Jung coined the term synchronicity to explain “meaningful coincidences” in life. He used the example of a man who, after recounting a dream of a scarab beetle, had a beetle fly in the window land on him. Jung was influenced by his relationship with scientists Albert Einstein and Wolfgang Pauli in explaining this theory.

RED BOOK

Red Book (also known as Liber Novus) is the name given to Jung’s notebook that he used throughout his career. It was not published until 2009, nearly fifty years after his death. Another collection of Jung’s notes are known as the Black Books. Other important works of Jung include Seven Sermons to the Dead and Answer to Job.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is widely considered one of the founding fathers of modern psychology. Freud began his career as a neurologist in Vienna. His 1895 Studies on Hysteria was a groundbreaking work that set the stage for Freud’s future theories. Freud pioneered the practice of psychoanalysis. Many of Freud’s theories, while no longer directly used by psychologists today, influence a variety of fields—from literary criticism to philosophy. Make yourself comfortable on the couch and tell me how learning about Freud makes you feel.

ID, EGO, AND SUPEREGO

Freud hypothesized that an individual’s psyche, or personality, is composed of three distinct aspects: id, ego, and superego. The id is the impulsive, unconscious aspect of the personality. The id is concerned with maximizing pleasure. The ego is responsible for rational problem-solving to achieve an individual’s desires, with no regard for the moral value of these desires. An individual’s superego encompasses the moral values and beliefs of their society. The superego can reign in the id and the ego with the use of an individual’s conscience.

THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS

The Interpretation of Dreams is one of Freud’s most important works. In this book Freud claimed that dreams exist to bring repressed desires from the unconscious mind to the dreamer’s awareness. In this sense, dreams are a kind of wish fulfilment. Freud analyzed the dreams of both himself and his patients. Some of these famous patients include Sergei Pankejeff, referred to in the book by the pseudonym wolf man due to the content of his dreams. One of Freud’s most famous dreams is referred to as Irma’s Injection within the book and is subject to a lengthy analysis

OEDIPUS COMPLEX

The Oedipus Complex is one of the most famous aspects of Freud’s theory of psychosexual development and the starting point of countless psychology jokes. The Oedipus Complex occurs during the Phallic stage of development (ages 3-6). It is characterized by a child having an unconscious feeling of attraction for their opposite-sex parent. Freud discusses the complex in relation to the case study of a patient he refers to as Little Hans.

BEYOND THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE

Published in 1920, Beyond the Pleasure Principle expands Freud’s explanatory theories of human behavior. In his earlier works Freud argued that human behavior could be explained mostly by the sexual instinct (libido). Beyond the Pleasure Principle proposes a contrasting death drive (Thanatos) which motivates our repetition compulsion, or desire to repeat traumatic experiences. For Freud, the death drive represents a universal urge to destroy and undo as a means of releasing energy and returning to a kind of primal state.

CIVILIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS

Freud continued to develop his theories and in 1930 published Civilization and Its Discontents. This book examines the conflict between the individual and society. Civilization has allowed the individual to flourish. Freud claims that advances of society and technology have made humans “god[s] by means of artificial limbs.” At the same time, however, for society to function the individual must repress their base instincts. According to Freud, this repression causes unhappiness and neuroses.