It is widely accepted that Sigmund Freud is the father of modern Psychology. Because of this accolade he almost inevitably a controversial figure. He has engendered strong feeling from both his supporters and from his detractors. Freud himself realised that he didn't have all of the answers and he was constantly refining his ideas. juxtaposed with this realism freud could not allow any questioning of his authority. A quote in Jungs autobiography occurs where Jung recounts Freud's refusal to discuss details of a dream. Freud said to Jung 'I cannot risk my authority 15 Quite a few people completely reject Freud and everything he has done. But it is very evident that his work is an integral part of our everyday lives. Graf is said to have said that his theories are "part of the spiritual air we breath". One of the main impediments when criticizing Freud is that the sorcers are nearly always secondary.9
Freud as a person Freud's critique of the catholic faith and religion in general has and is still linked to the house maid who was convicted of petty theft and jailed when Freud was only 2 years of age. She was a devoted Roman catholic and she may have been "his Teacher in sexual matters" 10. Freud has taken heavy critisism for not beliving in actual incest or sexual abuse. He treated it as a fantasy rather than a fact.9 The link between his intrest in human nature and his relationshipwith his mother was explored by Barron et al(1991)17
Psychoanalysis As pointed out in The life of Sigmund Freud chapter Freud devoted his efforts to the treatment of hysterical patients with the help of hypnosis. He began to see the positive and powerful effects that hypnosis was having on hysterical patients. Freud and another colleague Joseph Breuer published a paper called the Studies on Hysteria (1895)(4). Most psychologists would highly criticize this type of practice. This is because it would appear to lack a research method and base.9 This kind of debate has become dated due to the amount of qualitative and quantitative research been done. This is also due to the nature of scientific enquiery.9"Post modernistic " twentieth century science has showed us that all fields of observation are influenced by the method of observation and the observer.16
Freuds Theories Kline(1981) has shown a study where he summarizes various studies into Freud's Theories. As much as possible he draws on studies where the methodology is as sound as possible.he draews that the three main hypotheses from freudian Psychosexual theory is that 1. there are personality types in mature adults 2. that these are related to the child's experience that result form a particular type of child rearing. 3. That the mouth, anus and phallus are erotogenic zones in early childhood. Considering when this study was done and What Kline had available to him at the time here was strong evidence to support what people call "anal" or "oral people. Kline Also says that Freud puts far too much emphasis on the Oedipus complex even though parts of it such as castration anxiety is still supported heavily.
Criticisms about Freud
It is widely accepted that Sigmund Freud is the father of modern Psychology. Because of this accolade he almost inevitably a controversial figure. He has engendered strong feeling from both his supporters and from his detractors. Freud himself realised that he didn't have all of the answers and he was constantly refining his ideas. juxtaposed with this realism freud could not allow any questioning of his authority. A quote in Jungs autobiography occurs where Jung recounts Freud's refusal to discuss details of a dream. Freud said to Jung 'I cannot risk my authority 15 Quite a few people completely reject Freud and everything he has done. But it is very evident that his work is an integral part of our everyday lives. Graf is said to have said that his theories are "part of the spiritual air we breath". One of the main impediments when criticizing Freud is that the sorcers are nearly always secondary.9Freud as a person
Freud's critique of the catholic faith and religion in general has and is still linked to the house maid who was convicted of petty theft and jailed when Freud was only 2 years of age. She was a devoted Roman catholic and she may have been "his Teacher in sexual matters" 10. Freud has taken heavy critisism for not beliving in actual incest or sexual abuse. He treated it as a fantasy rather than a fact.9 The link between his intrest in human nature and his relationshipwith his mother was explored by Barron et al(1991)17
Psychoanalysis
As pointed out in The life of Sigmund Freud chapter Freud devoted his efforts to the treatment of hysterical patients with the help of hypnosis. He began to see the positive and powerful effects that hypnosis was having on hysterical patients. Freud and another colleague Joseph Breuer published a paper called the Studies on Hysteria (1895)(4). Most psychologists would highly criticize this type of practice. This is because it would appear to lack a research method and base.9 This kind of debate has become dated due to the amount of qualitative and quantitative research been done. This is also due to the nature of scientific enquiery.9"Post modernistic " twentieth century science has showed us that all fields of observation are influenced by the method of observation and the observer.16
Freuds Theories
Kline(1981) has shown a study where he summarizes various studies into Freud's Theories. As much as possible he draws on studies where the methodology is as sound as possible.he draews that the three main hypotheses from freudian Psychosexual theory is that
1. there are personality types in mature adults
2. that these are related to the child's experience that result form a particular type of child rearing.
3. That the mouth, anus and phallus are erotogenic zones in early childhood.
Considering when this study was done and What Kline had available to him at the time here was strong evidence to support what people call "anal" or "oral people.
Kline Also says that Freud puts far too much emphasis on the Oedipus complex even though parts of it such as castration anxiety is still supported heavily.