Freud, Sigmund (1856–1939)

Sigmund Freud, born in Freiberg, Moravia, on May 6, 1856, and now known as one of the greatest minds of the 20th century, was a physiologist, medical doctor, psychologist, and the father of psychoanalysis. He postulated that many neuroses (mostly phobias, hysteria, chronic pain, and sometimes forms of paranoia) had origins in past traumatic experiences that were forgotten or hidden in the unconsciousness. Discoveries such as this made Freud one of the most provocative thinkers of his time.

Although Freud was an extremely influential thinker, his pioneering thoughts were set in motion by the works of other influential thinkers that preceded him. Two in particular are Charles Darwin, a naturalist, and Freud's early mentor Ernst Brucke, under whom Freud studied physiology while enrolled in medical school at the University of Vienna. Darwin revolutionized the conception of mankind when he published The Origin of Species in 1859. Up to that time, the human species was viewed as being distinct from the animal kingdom. However, Darwin theorized that not only is our species a part of the animal kingdom but it has also changed physically over time, just as all members of the animal kingdom have. This concept, known as evolution, suggested that mankind could be viewed as an object that can be investigated scientifically. Freud, first and foremost a scientist, accepted this idea implicitly and examined the human psyche analytically and scientifically.

The second groundbreaking concept that allowed Freud to develop his own original thought was work done by Freud's teacher Ernst Brucke. Brucke published work stating that all living organisms (including our species) are, like inanimate objects, energy systems, which are subject to the laws of thermodynamics, in particular the principle of conservation. The principle of conservation as formulated by physicists Mayer, Joule, and later Helmholz states that “energy is neither created nor destroyed, rather it only changes form.” Brucke's application of this law of conservation to living systems was called dynamic physiology. Freud adopted dynamic physiology with enthusiasm, and it was only a short time before he conceptualized that such a thing as psychic energy existed and that the human personality was also an energy system. This concept would form the cornerstone of his psychoanalytic theory.

Two fundamental concepts developed by Freud are the reality principle and the pleasure principle. The pleasure principle, in a basic sense, tells the organism to do whatever feels good or whatever brings pleasure, such as satiating hunger or thirst or avoiding painful stimuli. However, the organism is particular in the sense that it acts to survive and to reproduce. Therefore, the urge to have sex is a powerful motivating force behind an organism's behavior. In addition, because the organism is a closed system and is dependent on the external environment that it experiences, it must be mindful of laws and rules involved with interacting with this environment. The reality principle tells the organism to subordinate pleasure to what is necessary, that is, procuring adequate food, work, and shelter, and so on.

In the human psyche, the conflict that arises between the pleasure principle and the reality principle is internalized by three properties explained by Freud, the id, the ego, and the superego. The inherited[Page 1006]id operates in keeping with the pleasure principle, that is, the demand to take care of needs and, to an extent, instincts. Freud defined the translation of needs to wishes, provided by the pleasure-seeking id, as the primary process.

Source: © CORBIS.

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