...Date: 21 February 2012 Write an essay about the Oedipus complex. Your essay should explore the history of the concept, its development in psychoanalytic thinking and its wider implications. You should illustrate your understanding with detailed examples from your work setting and/or placement. Essay submitted for the award of MSc in Psychodynamic Counselling and Psychotherapy at Birkbeck College, University of London Introduction This paper attempts to trace the evolution of Freud’s concept of the Oedipus complex within psychoanalysis. One case will be considered in detail to illustrate relevant theoretical formulations focussing mainly on the work of Freud, Klein, Britton and Bion. The wider implications of the Oedipus complex will also be considered before I conclude. History of the Oedipus complex and Freud’s theoretic evolution Freud used the term Oedipus complex to describe a boy's feelings of desire for his mother and hostility towards his father which he regarded as a universal event of early childhood. The term is derived from the Greek myth of Oedipus who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother. In a letter to Fliess dating back to 1897, Freud (1954) attributes these ideas to his self analysis and indirectly to the Greek myth as presented in the popular Sophocles’ play ‘Oedipus Rex’. During the late 1890s Freud, theorised that fantasies built around the Oedipus complex were the primary cause of hysteria and other neurotic symptoms...
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...Psychotherapy Volume 32/Winter 1995/Number 4 DOES THE OEDIPUS COMPLEX EXIST? JOEL KUPFERSMID PSI, Twinsburg, Ohio The Oedipus complex is considered to be the nucleus of neurosis for Freud and many psychoanalysts. Examination of the nature and origins of the Oedipus complex presented by psychoanalysts and critics suggests, that as a hypothetical construct, there is little evidence to support its existence. sity students taking courses in psychology. Thus, it appears that an examination of the historical roots and current status of the Oedipus complex might aid psychotherapists as well as others who have been introduced to the concept. The primary focus of this article will be on the validity of the Oedipus complex and the reasonableness of believing that it is a viable hypothetical construct in the analysis of human psychopathology and, thus, that it should be placed at the core of clinical procedures. What Is the Oedipus Complex? The Oedipus complex has two forms, one for the male and one for the female. Freud's writings on both forms spans several decades. There is no single publication in which he fully described all aspects of the Oedipus complex for both males and females. A researcher must piece together the nature of both forms from his many writings on the topic. The essence of the Oedipus complex is a desire on the part of the child to have a sexual relationship with the opposite sex parent and feelings of hostility toward the same sex parent. These desire/feelings...
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...Hamartia in Oedipus the King According to the Aristotelian characteristics of good tragedy, the tragic character should not fall due to either excessive virtue or excessive wickedness, but due to what Aristotle called hamartia. Hamartia may be interpreted as either a flaw in character or an error in judgement. Oedipus, the tragic character in Sophocles’ Oedipus the King, certainly makes several such mistakes; however, the pervasive pattern of his judgemental errors seems to indicate a basic character flaw that precipitates them. Oedipus’ character flaw is ego. This is made evident in the opening lines of the prologue when he states "Here I am myself--you all know me, the world knows my fame: I am Oedipus." (ll. 7-9) His conceit is the root cause of a number of related problems. Among these are recklessness, disrespect, and stubbornness. Oedipus displays an attitude of recklessness and disrespect throughout the play. When he makes his proclamation and no one confesses to the murder of Laius, Oedipus loses patience immediately and rushes into his curse. Later, he displays a short temper to Tiresias: "You, you scum of the earth . . . out with it, once and for all!," (ll. 381, 383) and "Enough! Such filth from him? Insufferable--what, still alive? Get out--faster, back where you came from--vanish!" (ll. 490-492) If an unwillingness to listen may be considered stubbornness, certainly Oedipus would take advice from no one who would tell him to drop the matter of his...
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...Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper analyzing the components of the psychoanalytic approach to personality. Your paper should cover the following areas: • Compare and contrast the psychoanalytic theories of Freud, Jung, and Adler. What are two characteristics of these theories with which you agree? What are two characteristics with which you disagree? • Describe the stages of Freud’s theory and explain characteristics of personality using these components. • Describe uses of at least three Freudian defense mechanisms with real-life examples. • Psychologists have broken down the human personality into five distinct categories; neuroticism, extraversion, openness, conscientiousness and agreeableness. The acronyms used to refer to these personality traits are "CANOE, OCEAN and NEOAC." Each personality has visible traits which sets them apart from each other. The characteristics of individuals are what make them unique and special. This is why there are no two people that are exactly the same. Although, some people do share some of the same characteristics, it does not mean that they share the same personality. This is often referred to as idiosyncrasy. Idiosyncrasy describes the unique mannerism, or behavioral that an individual displays. It is more like their personal "signature", because they are recognized or identified by the one special behavior or mannerism they display. • Friedman,Howard S. and Schustack, Miriam W.; Trait Aspects of Personality: Identity...
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...what he unconsciously wanted to do".[84] Confronted with his repressed desires, Hamlet realises that "he himself is literally no better than the sinner whom he is to punish".[83] Freud suggests that Hamlet's apparent "distaste for sexuality"—articulated in his "nunnery" conversation with Ophelia—accords with this interpretation.[85][86] John Barrymore's long-running 1922 performance in New York was characterized as "revolutionary in its use of Freudian psychology; in keeping with the post World War I rebellion against everything Victorian, he eschewed the genteel, idealized 'Sweet Prince' of 19th-century tradition, imbuing his character with danger and sexuality."[87] Beginning in 1910, with the publication of "The Oedipus-Complex as An Explanation of Hamlet's Mystery: A Study in Motive,"[88] Ernest Jones—a psychoanalyst and Freud's biographer—developed Freud's ideas into a series of essays that culminated in...
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...1950; 1973; 2003; 2005; 2006; Storey, 2012). According to Freud, living in community means humans abandoning their sexual instincts in order to coexist with others (Freud, 1973). Freud’s major contribution to psychology is the understanding of the unconscious as a place, in the human psyche, where repress desires exist and can only be fitfully repressed (Freud, 1973; 2003; 2005; 2006). Through the lens of Sigmund Freud, his work on Psychoanalysis (1973), The Dreamwork (2006), Totem and Taboo (1950), Civilization and Its Discontents (2005), and The Uncanny (2003); this paper will describe the foundations of the unconscious and how...
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...adINFERIOTY COMPLEX A term paper presented to MRS.Soriano College of Arts and Science University of Perpetual Help System Dalta In partial fulfillment of the requirements in the subject English 200 By: Pinto, Jesserene Camile P. Polintan, Sophia L. Jose, Stanielle Mannie M. I. Introduction Inferiority complex often used to mean low self-esteem is feeling of intense insecurity of not measuring up. An inferiority can be seen in negative or ”useless” reaction to problem in life. These reactions are useless because they do not solve the problem at hand, but only serve to guard one’s self-esteem by avoiding the task or by placing the blame for the failure outside of the individual’s control. Alfred Adler is one who experienced inferiority complex described that the feeling of inferiority is highly intensified the degree that he will never be able to compensate for his weakness. He believed that everyone started put experiencing feeling of inferiority in childhood, due to the inherently unequal position and psychological dependence experienced by children. Stemming from psychoanalytic branch of psychology, the idea first appeared among many Sigmund Freud’s works and later in the work f his colleague Carl Jung. Alfred Adler, founder of classical alderman psychology held that many neurotic symptoms could be traced to over compensation for the feeling of inferiority complex. The use of the term complex now is generally used to denote the group of emotionally toned...
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...Annotated Bibliography Aguirre, Manuel. “Life, Crown, and Queen: Gertrude and the Theme of Sovereignty.” Oxford UP 47.186 (1996): 163-74. JSTOR. Web. 2 December 2013. This article interpreted the metaphors in Hamlet. The main focus was on the Cup of Sovereignty, which is the metaphor for the cup King Claudius drinks from during the marriage proposal. Even though I read information from this source I am not going to use this because it does not relate to my thesis. However, it does explain the significance of the cup referencing to corruption and the poisons that ruined many lives. This article helped me understand the symbolism of deception in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” Barron’s. Hamlet. New York: Barron’s Educational Series, 2002. Print This book contains the Shakespeare’s play Hamlet and a modern interpretation of the script. This source was used to read the play and fully understand exactly what action was taking place. I am not using this book to quote any material because it is a form of cliff notes; however it was helpful in interpreting scenes and breaking down Elizabethan sentences. Boyd, Brian. “Literature and Evolution: A Bio-Cultural Approach.” The Johns Hopkins UP 29.1 (2005): 1- 23. JSTOR. Web. 4 December 2013. This article is about the “sophisticated concealment and deception” Shakespeare incorporated in Hamlet (Boyd 16). I am using this source because it relates to my thesis. It explains how Shakespeare uses deception to exaggerate life-and-death issues...
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...Sociology 100 – Key theorists Bauman, Zygmunt (1925– ) A Polish-born sociologist who was expelled by the Communist government of Poland and dismissed from Warsaw University. He left Poland in 1968, working in Israel (and briefly in Australia) and then in Britain, at Leeds University. Bauman is a prolific and highly influential writer whose work extends beyond academic sociology. His study of contemporary ‘liquid’ society and postmodernity, and the ethical and moral consequences of living in such a society, have made him one of the most influential social theorists of modern times. Liquid society – postmodernity, ethics and moral consequences. Bourdieu, Pierre (1930–2002) A French sociologist and anthropologist whose work attempted to deal with how people contribute to their own domination. Developing the concepts of ‘habitus’, ‘cultural capital’, and ‘field’, Bourdieu examined processes of subordination and resistance in a number of areas of social life, including education, art, literature, language, television, and the globalised economy. Bourdieu’s most famous book is Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste (1984). Globalised economy, subordination and resistance in social life. ‘Culture capital’ Burke, Edmund (1729–97) An English politician and writer, often seen as the father of modern conservatism for his hostile reaction to the chaos and violence of the French Revolution. For many, his defence of tradition and individual liberty is...
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...| | Introduction Mr. Smith is a young man attempting to change his life for the better. The purpose of this paper is to inform, applying critical thinking, and communicate professional judgment about youths in a rural setting. The youths of YouthBuild Mississippi Delta face many obstacles in everyday life and strive to become better citizens. Client System Andra Smith is a 23 years old, African American. He is the youngest of 5 children raised in a single parent home in rural Mississippi. His father was never around to guide him into becoming a man and his other siblings did not complete high school either. The value system is living and surviving from day to day. The mother is a cook at the local restaurant and makes just a little more than minimum wage. She is a functioning alcoholic and I believe that this disease runs in the family. The Smith family never really attended church services other than funerals or weddings. They reside in the white project and this is low income housing. The overall physical health of the family is pretty good, no high blood pressure or diabetes. They do not have a regular physician but, no complaints of health problems. The family members have no diagnosis of any mental problems at this time. The first human behavior theory I chose was family systems theory because this family is dysfunctional...
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...Paper name Psy 360 your name Instructor date Freud and Jung: Early Psychoanalytic Theories Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung were two influential theorists in psychology (Nystul, M., 2005). Freud was considered the father of psychology and believed that human behavior was the result of unconscious conflict deep in the mind of individuals (Nystul, M., 2005). Jung’s theory developed directly out of Freud’s psychoanalytic approach; however he refuted several of Freud’s key points and placed an even greater emphasis on the unconscious. Freud and Jung were the key figures of the psychoanalytic approach to psychology; however their theories differed on several key points (Nystul, M., 2005). Freud’s psychoanalytic theory was the seed for many subsequent theorists’ work. His main assertion was that human behavior and personality derived from the unconscious conflict that arose in individuals’ unconscious (Fayek, 2005). He postulated that the unconscious was a combination of the id, which was the primal drive for all human needs (e.g., sex, hunger), the superego, which could be likened to the internalization of societal values and standards (e.g., the conscience), and the moderating ego that was the rational part of thought that controlled the impulses of the id and superego. Anxiety arose when individuals were confronted with fears of danger within reality (Shill, 2004). Neurotic anxiety occurred when individuals were confronted with dangers that arose in childhood, and can be connected...
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...existence of several theories is so that a theorist can speculate from a specific point of view. A theory is a tool that is used by scientists to pursue knowledge. Many of the personality theories derive from the personality of the theorist. In this paper I am going to discuss the similarities and differences surrounding Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytical theory and Melanie Klein’s object relations theory. The most famous of all personality theories is psychoanalysis, developed by Sigmund Freud in the 1920s. Psychoanalysis is a school of thought that emphasized how the unconscious mind influenced behavior. Freud based his theories on the experiences he received from his patients. He believed that the human mind consisted of three components: the id, the ego and the super-ego. The id controlled the basic needs of the body such as hunger, thirst, sleep, etc… The ego makes sure that these needs are met as well as meeting the needs of the super-ego. The super-ego represents the ideal and moral aspects of a personality. Freud believed in free association, which was hard for some of his patients to master. This made dream analysis one of his famous forms of therapeutic technique. The Theories and methods in psychoanalytic thinking rely on research that is experimental. Theories made by psychoanalytic thinkers, such as Freud and Erickson, are still highly influential today. One of the greatest strengths in psychoanalysis is that it is very comprehensive. It explains mental functioning and...
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...Freud was born to Jewish Galician parents in the Moravian town of Příbor (German: Freiberg in Mähren), Austrian Empire, now part of the Czech Republic, the first of their eight children.[10] His father, Jakob Freud (1815–1896), a wool merchant, had two sons, Emanuel (1833–1914) and Philipp (1836–1911), from his first marriage. Jakob's family were Hasidic Jews, and though Jakob himself had moved away from the tradition, he came to be known for his Torah study. He and Freud's mother, Amalia (née Nathansohn), 20 years her husband's junior and his third wife, were married by Rabbi Isaac Noah Mannheimer on 29 July 1855. They were struggling financially and living in a rented room, in a locksmith's house at Schlossergasse 117 when their son Sigmund was born.[11] He was born with a caul, which his mother saw as a positive omen for the boy's future.[12] In 1859 the Freud family left Freiberg. Freud’s half brothers immigrated to Manchester, England, parting him from the “inseparable” playmate of his early childhood, Emanuel’s son, John.[13] Jacob Freud took his wife and two children (Freud's sister, Anna, was born in 1858; a brother, Julius, had died in infancy) firstly to Leipzig and then in 1860 to Vienna where four sisters (Rosa, Marie, Adolfine and Paula) and a brother (Alexander) were born. In 1865, the nine-year-old Freud entered the Leopoldstädter Kommunal-Realgymnasium, a prominent high school. He proved an outstanding pupil and graduated from the Matura in 1873 with honors...
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...Paper name Psy 360 your name Instructor date Freud and Jung: Early Psychoanalytic Theories Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung were two influential theorists in psychology (Nystul, M., 2005). Freud was considered the father of psychology and believed that human behavior was the result of unconscious conflict deep in the mind of individuals (Nystul, M., 2005). Jung’s theory developed directly out of Freud’s psychoanalytic approach; however he refuted several of Freud’s key points and placed an even greater emphasis on the unconscious. Freud and Jung were the key figures of the psychoanalytic approach to psychology; however their theories differed on several key points (Nystul, M., 2005). Freud’s psychoanalytic theory was the seed for many subsequent theorists’ work. His main assertion was that human behavior and personality derived from the unconscious conflict that arose in individuals’ unconscious (Fayek, 2005). He postulated that the unconscious was a combination of the id, which was the primal drive for all human needs (e.g., sex, hunger), the superego, which could be likened to the internalization of societal values and standards (e.g., the conscience), and the moderating ego that was the rational part of thought that controlled the impulses of the id and superego. Anxiety arose when individuals were confronted with fears of danger within reality (Shill, 2004). Neurotic anxiety occurred when individuals were confronted with dangers that arose in childhood, and can be connected...
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...explain what we are and do in genetic terms, began with the English polymath Francis Galton, who in 1883 coined the term "eugenics" to refer to his proposal that humanity improve itself through judicious breeding. Galton's measurements of the physical and mental characteristics of various groups had convinced him that upper-class gentlemen like himself were innately smarter than poor white men, let alone "inferior races" like Africans. On a trip to Africa, however, Galton was mightily impressed with the physical endowments of Hottentot women, whose bodies he measured from afar with a sextant because he was too timorous to approach them. Galton's ideas were carried forward in the United States by Charles Davenport, who directed biological research at the prestigious Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island around the turn of the last century. Davenport believed in the heritability of traits like pauperism, shiftlessness, and the ability to be a naval officer. The latter, he asserted, was composed of subtraits for thalassophilia,...
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