Psychoanalysis / Freudian Theory

Core text: Sigmund Freud’s “Formulations on the Two Principles

of Mental Functioning” (1911)

Author Context

• Freud (1856 – 1939), Austria• Physician, specializing in neurology• Developed modern practices of psychology

and therapy (psychoanalysis)• Emphasis on past events (many “forgotten”)

having large impact on current life events, choices, and beliefs

Theoretical Context

• Essay continues work previously done by Freud• Freud divides mental processes into two drives:– Primary: Pleasure Principle is the main factor– Secondary: Reality Principle is the main factor

• These drives interact as we negotiate our existences in the “real” world (as opposed to the world that exists in our heads)

• Written prior to 1950s but, much like Marxism, establishes basis for other theory

Psychic Apparatus

• The three pieces whose interactions dictate our lives• Super Ego: Hyper-morality, critical, (superstructures)

– no one actually functions here• Id: Instinct and pleasure driven, a person’s “true”

self – children or “Neurotics” function here• Ego: What emerges in the conflict between Super

Ego and Id – this is where most “normal” adults function

Psychical Activity

• The actions of the mind• Manifested through dreams (sleeping or waking),

fantasies, altered states of reality (drugs, alcohol), or altered states of existence (playing roles, writing)

• Repressed (for non-neurotic adults)• A way to satisfy our wants / desires without

compromising our positions in society• PLEASURE IS THE GOAL• (Even though repressed, still weighs heavily on daily

decisions and interactions.)

Physical Activity

• What we do and how we interact with the world around us

• Involves the interplay of our senses• Driven by conscious(ness) / deliberate choices• UNPLEASURE IS THE GOAL (important that

unpleasure, rather than pain, completes the binary; also calls it reality principle – uses unpleasure and reality interchangeably; suggests that an acceptance of momentary unpleasure leads to longer-lasting or more significant pleasure)

Pleasure v Reality

Pleasure: People will seek pleasure and avoid pain to satisfy their wants (both physical and emotional).

Reality: People will delay gratification of desire if it can’t be immediately attained. The drive is still pleasure, but it is governed by reality (the need to function successfully in the real world). This results in an alienation of the self from its own desires. So people are constantly living in a state of alienation.

Pleasure or Reality?

Lust

Lust / Unlust

• Lust (desire) is one of the primal pleasure drives

• Unlust is part of the reality principle because people repress their desires in order to function in the world

Pleasure or Reality?

Conscious

Unconscious / Conscious

• The conscious is an example of deliberate choices made in reality and made to “fit in” with society

• The unconscious is where our pleasure drives can run free (often in dreams, fantasies, etc.)

• The Freudian Subconscious – This idea comes up a lot in psychoanalysis and is similar to the idea of repression. People are aware of their unconscious, but their subconscious is generally hidden.

Pleasure or Reality?

Senses

Imagination / Senses

• The imagination is a vehicle for pursuing pleasure drives; it is the primary place our Id operates. As long as our wants remain in our minds, they are “okay”.

• We use our senses to negotiate reality; our senses help us make deliberate choices in the physical world.

Other binaries

• Imaginary / Reality• Psychical / Physical• Dreams / Life• Pictures / Words• Wants / Needs• Id / Ego (the Super Ego exists outside the

binary)• Afterlife / Beliefs

Questions for further consideration:

• Does Freud’s pleasure principle justify, or even endorse, inducing altered states of reality?

• How does Marx’s consciousness differ from Freud’s consciousness?

What to look for in literature?

• Altered states of reality:– Dreams– Fantasies– Drugs / alcohol– Art and its forms

• Impact of super ego and struggle between id and ego

• Anything else?

Works Cited

Freud, Sigmund. “Formulations on the Two Principles of Mental Functioning.” 1911. The Freud Reader. Ed. Peter Gay. NY: Norton, 1989. 301 – 306. Print.