The ideas of Sigmund Freud, expressed by him at the beginning of the last century, stirred up the world psychological community. The concepts of the unconscious, conscious, psychoanalysis have become a new phenomenon in psychiatric science. Many brilliant scientific minds of that time attracted Freudian theories. From this moment, the method of psychoanalysis begins to be widely studied, and will be introduced into psychiatric practice.
The main theories of Freud
At the end of the 19th century, Freud put forward the theory of the influence of sexual energy on mental disorders. Libido - the central concept of psychoanalysis, means sexual energy, which is directed to everything that can be called love. Sex drive, relationships with parents and children on the basis of love and affection, narcissism, patriotic love for the motherland and people - all this is a manifestation of libido. According to Freud, libido is involved in the formation of a person’s personality, and its incorrect direction leads to mental disorders and neuroses.
The discovery of the unconscious. As the scientist himself claimed, the concept of the unconscious was already known to ancient philosophers. But Freud's merit lies in the development of a scientific method of psychoanalysis that allows you to penetrate into the deep unconscious layers of the psyche to detect problems of personality pathology. In other words, psychoanalysis helps to understand the causes that led to the disease.
In his works, Freud described the psychological reality that is different from the ideas of that time. The human psyche was considered as a "biological mechanism" with a set of instinctive and reflex reactions. Freud described the internal picture of personality as a single interconnected living organism based on the principles of cause and effect, continuity and sequence.
Dissemination of ideas
Freud's ideas captured many educated people: psychiatrists, psychologists, philosophers, thinkers, students and followers begin to appear. Psychoanalysis methods are used not only in psychiatry, but also in the diagnosis of psychological problems.
Institutes and scientific societies are opening, conferences are going on to study and implement psychoanalysis. However, the more and more closely the question was studied, the more obvious the inconsistency of certain aspects of the theory was manifested. According to some of his followers, to consider that all personality problems arise because of frustrated libido desires is one-sided and short-sighted.
Z. Freud jealously defends the provisions of the theory, not wanting to listen to the opinion of students, based on experimental data. Soon in the community of scientists studying psychoanalysis, there was a split that led to the breakdown of relations and the emergence of neo-Freudianism (from the Greek. Neos - new + Freudianism).
Definition of neo-Freudianism
Neo-Freudism is a new psychological school, focused on the consideration of a person’s personality through the prism of sociocultural factors.
The founders of this direction in psychology were G. Sullivan, K. Horney, A. Adler, E. Fromm. They drew attention to the fact that not all mental problems can be explained by the desire for libido. Not satisfied with the fact that Freud based his theory by studying mental abnormalities in patients of psychiatric clinics, not taking into account such a thing as the healthy development of an individual. However, Freud's psychoanalysis remains the foundation of the consideration of personality. Neo-Freudianism places emphasis on identifying the causes of personality deviations in the sphere of conflict between man and society.
Philosophical Foundation
The nature of the unconscious is much deeper and wider; it cannot be crammed into the Procrustean bed of biological sexual instinct. Human behavior is composed of many components and has a symbolic nature - this is the main difference between classical psychoanalysis and neo-Freudianism.
Society has a great influence on personality development. Man is originally born free and has an independent nature of desires. Gradually, social values are introduced into the human mind. The philosophy of neo-Freudianism endows society with a hostile nature. Presenting the individual its expectations and norms, society shackles the individual in its framework, not allowing it to fulfill itself. Through the healing of the individual, the healing of society must also take place.
Theories of neo-Freudianism
Society makes many different demands on a person. The ability of an individual to fit into the framework of society, to meet his expectations, will talk about the degree of adaptability of the individual.
Character is formed from childhood on the basis of cultural, historical, religious, etc. factors. The clash of the interests of society with the desires of the individual, their non-coincidence, can lead to intrapersonal conflict. Fears living in the subconscious, rejection of their negative qualities, low self-esteem lead to increased anxiety and the emergence of psychological problems.
What is neo-Freudianism is generally understood, but each follower of this direction has brought his own understanding. For example, C. Horney, not denying the idea of the unconscious, came to the conclusion that the causes of psychological problems of the individual will differ depending on national, historical and cultural components. A. Adler focused on the unconscious desire of man for power. C. Jung focused on the study of the collective unconscious and archetypes.
Individual theory of personality A. Adler
The current view that Alfred Adler was one of the first students of Z. Freud was not true. Even before he became acquainted with the ideas of psychoanalysis, Adler conducted his scientific research in this direction. He joined the society of psychoanalysts, having an already formed professional worldview. Acquaintance with Z. Freud began with a letter where the master of psychoanalysis expressed his gratitude to the young man who spoke out in defense of his new book, “Interpretation of Dreams”.
However, accepting the basic concepts of the theory of the unconscious, A. Adler was never an orthodox supporter of the thesis of the universality of libido. On the contrary, the neo-Freudianism of Adler consisted in advancing the energy of creativity to the role of the driving force in the development of the personality. When he published the book “Investigation of inferior organs”, where he outlined his understanding of the development of mental processes, Freud’s attitude to the young man deteriorated sharply. The founder of psychoanalysis was jealous, somewhere, even painful, of deviating from his theory, not accepting dissent. He preferred to part with such people, considering them “paranoid”, and ideas “incomprehensible”.
Adler went his own way. His neo-Freudianism is a consideration of personality disorders from the point of view of a person's unconscious desire for superiority over others.
The individual theory of personality focused on the fact that a person creates himself, but his freedom is limited by false goals, imposed by society since childhood. The problem of the impossibility of fully realizing a person lies in the sense of inferiority that she experiences in comparing herself with more successful people and the ideals of society. As a result, a person, in order to overcome this feeling, seeks to realize fictitious goals that he set for himself in order to achieve superiority over others. Authorities most of all respond to this request of personality. Therefore, a person subconsciously strives for power and perfection in order to compensate for the once unrealized desires in honor and respect.
Many of the ideas expressed by him in theory were autobiographical in nature. For example, the desire of the individual to be accepted into a society of his own kind, the opportunity to realize his potential, thereby be useful to others, was embedded in the idea of social interest, which emphasized the importance of shared values and empathy with each other. As a child, Adler was a weak child, and he felt great gratitude to the children who took him to joint games. In communication with friends, he received that share of attention and respect, which he was deprived of in the family.
Theories of C. Jung
Karl Jung, as well as Alfred Adler, cannot be fully applied the word "neo-Freudian". C. Jung, long before meeting with Z. Freud, began to study the nature of “mental” illnesses.
Psychiatry of that time specialized mainly in describing the symptoms of mental disorders and prescribing treatment, which was reduced to stopping strong manifestations. Jung is one of the first doctors who was no longer satisfied with a simple description of the patient's condition. He wanted to know the reason, that starting point, which served as an impetus for the development of the disease. The first thing he did was to talk with patients, finding out the circumstances of life that preceded their appearance in the clinic. Thanks to this simple procedure, Jung found out that, despite the similarity of symptoms, some patients did not have schizophrenia, as previously diagnosed, but a mental disorder due to an experienced psychotrauma. Accordingly, the treatment was completely different.
Based on conversations with patients, Jung developed a diagnostic method called the associative test. The value of this test is that it allows you to penetrate the depths of the subconscious to find out the causes of mental problems.
The scientific research conducted by Jung organically fit the ideas of psychoanalysis. Naturally, he became interested in Freud's theories, and immersed himself in their study. In the future, they were connected not only by workers, but by friendly relations. Therefore, Freud sharply reacted to Jung's "departure" from classical psychoanalysis. Although Jung did not want to hurt his friend, that was the price for the opportunity to have an opinion.
Jung's neo-Freudianism was expressed in abandoning the dominant role of sexual energy and highlighting sociocultural factors. Jung believed that a person is born with a set of certain qualities, inclinations and preferences. Environment, society do not form a personality, but provide an opportunity to realize an already laid individuality.
Jung goes further and develops the theory of the collective unconscious, with which the individual unconscious has a close relationship, and where he draws knowledge and ideas. Thus, neo-Freudianism is an expansion of the understanding of the unconscious, which includes both the individual, where repressed desires, suppressed fears, unconscious negative qualities are stored, and the general, which has not only a memory of the past, but also a vision of the present and future.
The collective unconscious includes the experience of mankind throughout its existence, and it is one for all. Jung's conclusion was led by the results of the study of fairy tales, myths, traditions, etc., of various peoples of the world. Having removed the national color, he discovered a striking similarity of stories and heroes. These heroes were the prototypes of many generations of people - Jung called them archetypes.
Archetypes, being in the collective unconscious, affect the unconscious choice of a model of behavior in different situations.
Ideas C. Horney
Karen Horney is the first woman in Germany to be allowed to study medicine. Having many internal problems, a tendency to depression, she is fond of the ideas of psychoanalysis. But, as we study and practice, disappointment comes and my understanding of the nature of psychological problems, which provoked her exclusion from the society of psychoanalysts.
Having established the Association for the Promotion of the Development of Psychoanalysis, C. Horney becomes the inspiration for the course of neo-Freudianism.
Horney's neo-Freudianism was the vision that in each country social relations between people are different, and accordingly the causes of neurosis are also of a different nature. This fact was discovered after her move from Germany to America.
The center of any neurosis is internal conflict. Freud believed that this was a struggle between repressed instinctual desires and pressure from society. Karen Horney did not deny this thesis, but considered it insufficient for the occurrence of mental disorders. The cause of the internal conflict, in her opinion, was anxiety. To reduce anxiety, the protective mechanisms of the psyche are turned on, such as avoiding setbacks, denial, etc. Protective mechanisms help a person deal with traumatic situations, but there is a constant feeling of dissatisfaction.
Horney called defensive tendencies “neurotic tendencies,” meaning repetitive, underlying neurosis, subconscious reactions. For example, the need for love and the desire for power will lead to a contradiction: it will not be possible to take care of people at the same time, expecting love from them, and to "go over their heads." An internal conflict between opposing inclinations will inevitably lead to the development of a neurotic state.
Confronting conflicting desires is a special case. The main or main conflict occurs between the "I" and the ideal "I", which has a deeper nature - this is a struggle between the creative and destructive forces. By analogy, rivalry between incompatible aspirations is like a conflict between competing firms, where only two parties take part. The conflict between the real and ideal “I” is a civil war in which the whole country is involved.
Neo-Freudianism E. Fromm
Unlike his colleagues, Erich Fromm did not have a medical education. At the university, he studied philosophy, sociology and psychology. This left a definite imprint. In his work, Fromm considers personality development more from the standpoint of philosophy and sociology. Here his views coincide with the ideas of neo-Freudianism. Fromm believes that it is impossible to explain the whole diversity of human behavior with biological instincts only.
A person can be understood through his attitude to the world, to himself, to others. The formation of personality occurs in the interaction of internal motives and social norms. Erich Fromm, like other representatives of neo-Freudianism, believed that psychoanalysis should include:
- Not only understanding the biological nature of the individual, but also operating with concepts such as freedom, faith, justice, truth, etc.
- Along with the method of self-observation, to provide an opportunity for a person to speak out, to confess. Pronunciation of painful situations allows a different look at them, thereby reducing their traumatic effect.
- Apply methods of psychoanalysis to assess historical and cultural events.
Conclusion
Briefly, neo-Freudianism can be characterized as the desire to find out the cause of mental disorders by studying the influence of society on a person and the nature of their relationship, since the cause of many mental deviations lies outside the personality itself. Modern society, with its purely material values, often leads a person to loneliness and alienation.
Neo-Freudianism is an attempt to answer the question of how a person should live in order to harmoniously integrate into society, without suppressing its nature.