Freud And The Enlightenment Research Paper
Freud and the Enlightenment
Enlightenment thinkers had told society that human nature was rational and it was the essential feature of modern man. Queen Victoria had influenced society with strong moral values that expected sexual restraint and a strict code of conduct during her long rein from 1837–1901 called the Victorian Era. Sigmund Freud came along toward the end of the Victorian Era and told them the mind had little power to reason, because an unconscious part of their mind had irrational motives that fought for control of behavior. Freud offered them an irrational man motivated by hidden urges, verbal slips of the tongue and strange dreams (Storr, 2001, p. 44).
Scholars generally agree that Sigmund Freud was one of the major thinkers of the twentieth century and that his ideas interacted powerfully with the culture that was rapidly changing and ready for something new. It was a society that was eager to grasp onto a new way of thinking and living. The prudish Victorian era was ending and society was ready to open up (Zaretsky, 2005, p. 16)
Freud’s New Theory
Freud’s theories of the mind and personality demonstrated …show more content…
He showed us that war and aggression was part of human nature, as was our sexuality and ever present daydreams. His ideas about unconscious phenomena, sexuality, transference, ego psychology, personality structure and the nature of society continue to be part of the assumptions people hold today. Our unconscious feelings are referred to as fact, ego is an accepted theory of the strength of the personality and the superego is blamed for our guilt feelings. Freud’s influence allowed people to care about their own needs, to open their mind to their own sexuality, and to look into their inner thoughts and feelings. Freud did impact the society of his time and many of his ideas continue to shape our culture today (Edmonson, 1997, p.
Enlightenment thinkers had told society that human nature was rational and it was the essential feature of modern man. Queen Victoria had influenced society with strong moral values that expected sexual restraint and a strict code of conduct during her long rein from 1837–1901 called the Victorian Era. Sigmund Freud came along toward the end of the Victorian Era and told them the mind had little power to reason, because an unconscious part of their mind had irrational motives that fought for control of behavior. Freud offered them an irrational man motivated by hidden urges, verbal slips of the tongue and strange dreams (Storr, 2001, p. 44).
Scholars generally agree that Sigmund Freud was one of the major thinkers of the twentieth century and that his ideas interacted powerfully with the culture that was rapidly changing and ready for something new. It was a society that was eager to grasp onto a new way of thinking and living. The prudish Victorian era was ending and society was ready to open up (Zaretsky, 2005, p. 16)
Freud’s New Theory
Freud’s theories of the mind and personality demonstrated …show more content…
He showed us that war and aggression was part of human nature, as was our sexuality and ever present daydreams. His ideas about unconscious phenomena, sexuality, transference, ego psychology, personality structure and the nature of society continue to be part of the assumptions people hold today. Our unconscious feelings are referred to as fact, ego is an accepted theory of the strength of the personality and the superego is blamed for our guilt feelings. Freud’s influence allowed people to care about their own needs, to open their mind to their own sexuality, and to look into their inner thoughts and feelings. Freud did impact the society of his time and many of his ideas continue to shape our culture today (Edmonson, 1997, p.