HCJ YEAR TWO, SEMESTER ONE - FREUD

I am well aware that this blog has been cruelly neglected. Now is the time for that to end.
ALL of this years HCJ lecture notes will be along shortly, working in reverse order (apologies) from my most recent and well remembered lecture, all the way to the first week of the year, way back in September. Wish me luck.


SIGMUND FREUD

Brian chose not to hold a banana for the whole of this lecture. I found that marginally disappointing. On the plus side, I was reminded just how good a film 'A Dangerous Method' is, and will be watching it again once this blog is fully updated.

Freud attempted to create an all encompassing theory, based on his observation of the misery of the human condition. Freud sought to understand why people are essentially miserable beings, and the method he devised to answer this question was psychoanalysis.
Through psychoanalysis, Freud believed he had uncovered the archaeology of the mind.
Freud claimed that the reason behind our misery is that we are at war with ourselves, that our mind is divided into three different parts. This theory draws some slight parallels with Plato and Marx, both of whom had stated that the mind consists of three parts, however, Freud's remarkably pessimistic view is very different from either of their views.
Freud believed the three parts of the mind were as follows:
- The Id
- The Ego
- The Super Ego

Id
Freud described the Id as "a cauldron of seething excitations". A wonderful phrase, but what does that mean?
Well in essence, Freud considered the Id to be the our core, where all our desires lie. According to Freud, these desires revolve largely around Sex and Violence, a point more recently supported by well respected East London rapper, Dizzee Rascal.
The Id can be compared to a spoiled brat, an irrational toddler who knows only what it wants, and is likely to lash out if it does not get its way. The key word there is 'irrational', the Id is unreasonable and passionate.

The Ego
The Ego is the voice of reason, the part of our mind that engages with reality. The part of your mind that stops you pushing that pregnant lady in front of the train, a sentiment echoed by a young comedian by the name of Eric Lampaert.
The Ego, while the voice of reason within our minds, is also the weakest by Freud's reckoning. He described the Ego as constantly "embattled and beseiged", almost as though the Ego is the perennial victim of the school bully.

The Super Ego
While the prior two elements of the human psyche are ever-present, the Super Ego develops after birth, it is nurtured by its surroundings.
The Super Ego is the internalised rules of your parents, teachers, law enforcement and society at large. The rules, laws and social conventions that you absorb as you develop. The Super Ego is an irrational aspect of your mind, it seeks perfection, and punishes you with guilt, not unlike Religion.


This vision of a three part mind draws sharp contrast with Plato's tripartite self, where reason is the strongest in the eyes of Plato, but clearly considered the weakest by Freud.
Freud's views are far more similar to those held by Hobbes and Machiavelli, we are violent beings, ruled by desire.

Freud observed that society is full of pain, that we are a decaying species that is constantly suffering. He believed that the greatest pain was other people, that others are the greatest root of suffering for an individual. Freud's answer to all of this was psychoanalysis, a solution that he openly admitted was not for everyone, as it was incredibly pricey. With the benefit of hindsight we can also safely say it lacked any scientific merit. Not a bad get rich quick scheme though I suppose, when you're a cocaine addicted celebrity psychoanalyst, but that is an aside.

For those not blessed with the required riches to indulge in psychoanalysis, Freud outlined a number of other, temporary solutions, to help control your Id.
Intoxication - Obviously not a permanent solution, and also relatively costly depending on your tolerance to alcohol/other substances.
Isolation - Again, only temporary, staying isolated for extended periods of time can do far more harm than good.
Religion - Essentially for Freud this is a mass delusion, but one that may help in calming your Id.
Sublimation - By which Freud meant socially acceptable ways of releasing the pent up aggression of your Id, such as sport and work.

If you could afford psychoanalysis however, Freud believed it was a means to deal directly with the Id. Freud did this a variety of ways, including hypnosis, dream analysis and free association. Free association is essentially the patient talking continually in a stream of consciousness, until they eventually reveal their inner desires.

Freud also stated that Civilisation is a collective Super Ego, imposing moral limits and expectations on the masses. Freud considered such phrases as "Love your neighbour" and "Love your enemy" as completely unrealistic expectations, claiming "man is a wolf to man".

Freud's theories contrasted greatly with a number of other philosophers, particularly Karl Marx.
Marx believed in humanities ability to progress and develop, and that eventually a change in system would change society and humanity. Freud had no faith in the ability of humankind to develop and progress, believing the Id is far too strong for us to overcome. Freud believed that regardless of changes in society and structure, we will always be ourselves, we cannot escape our own minds, a belief supported by Russell Brand in his stand up show 'Doing Life'.

In the end of course, Freud's theories have been largely discredited, with no evidence or scientific suggestion that psychoanalysis works, and proof that Freud did not, as he claimed, discover the unconscious mind, a concept which had actually been discussed in academic circles far before Freud. This aside, however, Freud's impact on modern society and thought cannot be denied, as illustrated by the occasional comparisons to modern day entertainers. Even Dizzee Rascal has a little Freud in him.