A bit about Sigmund Freud

I did my undergrad and grad work in Psychological Counseling and had many opportunities to delve into the mind and theories of Sigmund Freud. There are so many critics of “The Founder of Psychoanalysis” and to them I always say, “Thou doth protest too much.” He was no saint, nor were his theories irrefutable. He was however brave enough to share with the world the ideas he had about our development, society and the human psyche. For that, as the last quote humorously states he was rebuked and shunned by those who came after. For example take Carl Jung being the student who, once he drained from Freud all that he could, betrayed him in a most unseemly way. Why was Freud such a target for mass criticism? My opinion is very simple: He said it first, wrote it first, admitted it first and for this he was envied, and therefore brought out the worst qualities of those who followed. There is more criticism of his theories than the prolific writings of the man himself. I agree that some of his notions were “out there” but they are none the less the back bone of psychoanalysis and psychology. Terms we use casually such as, “he is so anal”, “you are projecting”, and “stop being so defensive” all came from Freud. His terminology is used in our day to day lives, and for that he must be applauded. Here are a few quotes from the man himself on the state of civilization.

“A civilization which leaves so large a number of its participants unsatisfied and drives them into revolt neither has, nor deserves the prospect of a lasting existence.”

“Civilized society is perpetually menaced with disintegration through this primary hostility of men towards one another.”

“Everywhere I go I find that a poet has been there before me.”

“Illusions commend themselves to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure instead. We must therefore accept it without complaint when they sometimes collide with a bit of reality against which they are dashed to pieces.”

“What progress we are making. In the Middle Ages they would have burned me. Now they are content with burning my books.”

7 thoughts on “A bit about Sigmund Freud”

Freud is hated on for many reasons but his biggest “sin” was his frank discussion of sex (and its developmental impact) in the sexually suppressed Victorian age.

I agree with you that we need to look to the totality of his work and the impact he had on those who followed. Do we ridicule Copernicus because he did not discover Pluto and reject it as a planet? No – so them jokers need to chill on Sig.

As I side note, I am very stoked. Kassandra offered me the possibility for writing for them. Wish me luck.

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Some of the greatest names of the last one hundred years fell into the great but hated bracket.. DH Lawrence among them.

Funny how fast we forget the hate after they have gone and remember the great that they did.

Great post…

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@dontdatethatdude Thank you for your comment and he was so much hated as rejected for some time. Yet we all know he was right about certain things, like your slips.

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I didn’t know Freud was so hated. I always make Freudian slips. I will say that I have noticed forward thinking people usually, eventually get bashed. Great post!

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