Humanities 102: Worldviews of Madness, Mental Illness, and Emotional Distress

Course Title: Humanities 102: Worldviews of Madness, Mental Illness, and Emotional Distress (Winter 2026).
Instructor: Dr. Emily R. Douglas.
Quiz Requirement: A quiz worth $5\%$ of the final grade, covering the Course Outline and the First Day slides, is due by the next class session.
TASC Workshop: The current session begins with a workshop hosted by the Transition and Success Centre (TASC) focused on note-taking strategies. This is specifically designed to prepare students for upcoming partially open-book tests and quizzes.

Consciousness: Includes the thoughts, memories, and feelings that an individual is aware of at any given moment.
Preconscious Level: This layer resides just below the surface of awareness. It contains information that is not currently in consciousness but can be readily retrieved when needed (e.g., telephone numbers or memories of recent events).
Unconscious Level: The deepest level of the mind, containing impulses, memories, and desires that are inaccessible to conscious awareness but continue to influence behavior and personality.

The Id: - Location: Operates entirely at the unconscious level. - Onset: Present from birth. - Function: Driven by basic biological impulses including sex (libido) and aggression. It demands immediate satisfaction and operates according to the pleasure principle. - Characteristics: Irrational, impulsive, and instinctual. It is the seat of raw desires (‐I WANT/DON’T WANT‐).
The Ego: - Location: Operates mainly at the conscious level but also functions within the preconscious level. - Development: Develops over time as the individual interacts with the environment. - Function: Acts as the ‐executive‐ or mediator between the impulsive demands of the Id and the idealistic restrictions of the Superego. It performs reality testing and rational deliberation. - Characteristics: Based in reason, logic, and decision-making; it makes the final verdict or choice in behavior.
The Superego: - Location: Operates mostly at the preconscious level but is partly conscious. - Development: Formed through the internalization of the values, rules, and morals of parents and society; it becomes the person’s conscience. - Function: Strives for perfection and moral excellence. It focuses on moral judgments, valuations, and rule adherence.

Scenario 1: Mary’s Calculus Exam

Situation: Mary has studied for weeks for a final exam on Monday. Her boyfriend, Paul, offers her tickets to a Shakespeare Festival on Saturday and Sunday.
The Conflict: Mary loves Shakespeare and Paul, but feels guilty and anxious because she needs to study.
Psychic Resolution: Her Ego mediates the conflict by realizing she can study on Saturday and attend the festival on Sunday, satisfying both herself and the reality of her exam requirements.

Scenario 2: Ravi’s Driving Restriction

Situation: Ravi just got his driver’s license. Parents allow driving only to and from school. Friends want him to drive them to an arcade $2\,\text{miles}$ out of his way.
The Conflict: Ravi feel nervous (Superego reaction to rule-breaking), then decides his friends are being mean and that he should find new friends who follow rules.
Psychic Resolution: Ravi decides not to take his friends, defaulting to the rules internalized in his Superego.

Freud’s Foundational Definition: ‐in neurosis the ego suppresses part of the id out of allegiance to reality, whereas in psychosis it lets itself be carried away by the id and detached from a part of reality.‐
Neurosis: - Mechanism: The ego’s defense mechanisms fail to hold back an impulse. Because the impulse is repressed, it cannot find direct expression and instead manifests as physical or behavioral symptoms. - Triggers: Can be caused by internal conflict or external trauma. - Common Forms: Obsessions, hysteria, melancholia, phobias, and general anxiety.
Psychosis: - Mechanism: A fundamental disturbance in the connection between the self and the external world. The Id overpowers the Ego, causing the individual to detach from reality and retreat into fantasy. - Common Forms: Paranoia, delusions, and schizophrenia.

Conflict Origin: Psychological distress occurs when there is prolonged friction between the demands of the Id, the rationality of the Ego, and the morality of the Superego.
Primary Defense Mechanisms: These are unconscious strategies used by the Ego to protect the individual from anxiety: - Repression: Pressing down and hiding unwanted feelings or memories from consciousness. - Denial: Refusing to acknowledge external facts, events, or truths. - Projection: Imagining that your own unacceptable feelings belong to someone else. - Regression: Returning to comforts associated with childhood or infancy. Examples include physical rocking, swaddling, or a sudden loss of verbal communication abilities.

Freudian Slips: When a repressed idea or emotion unintentionally ‐slips out‐ during normal speech. These can be sexual or non-sexual. A cited example is ‐The Bishop coming for tea,‐ where conversational errors reveal hidden preoccupations. A common descriptor is starting to say one thing and ending up mentioning one's mother.
Dreams and Fantasies: Served as primary evidence for the activity of the unconscious.
Physical Symptoms: Unexplained physiological ailments that have no biological cause but are rooted in psychic conflict.

Foundational Impact: Physical and emotional events during childhood establish a permanent framework for adult life.
The Injury Analogy: An emotional injury is compared to a broken ankle that, while seemingly healed, can become a recurring issue throughout life.
The Parental Triad: Based on the ‐mommy-daddy-me‑ relationship, children develop attachments that create powerful impressions. These impressions persist unconsciously, leading adults to return to these relationship dynamics repeatedly.
Prohibitions: Rules and restrictions imposed during childhood are critical in the development of the Superego.
Clinical Approach: This theory requires psychologists to consider the specific details and unique history of individual cases rather than applying broad generalizations.

Reading Assignments: - Sigmund Freud’s Fragments (descriptions of Dora): $4\,\text{pages}$ . - David S. Luft, ‐Thinking about Sexuality and Gender in Vienna‐: $10\,\text{pages}$ . - Rosalind Minsky, Psychoanalysis and Gender (introductory reader, 1996): $7\,\text{pages}$ .
Note on Difficulty: The instructor acknowledges these readings are difficult and advises students to do their best before they are reviewed in class.
Media Requirement: Students must watch the film A Dangerous Method prior to the Unit 1 test.
Activity Note: Participation in the Id/Ego/Superego group activity counts toward the final Engagement/participation grade.