The Freudian Revolution

Sigmund Freud ( ) Like Marx, a determinist People determined by their instincts –Life instinct: sex (libido) –Death instinct: aggression, self-destruction

Freud: the Psyche Id: the raw instincts Ego: the manager of the id that sublimates the instincts Superego: the “conscience” that manages the ego according to social standards and morality

Sublimation vs. Repression Sublimation=positive redirection/ modification of instincts Repression: When an instinct is not sublimated but frustrated. The instinct does not go away but takes the form of a neurotic symptom

Civilization and its Discontents (1930) Causes of suffering –Body –External world –Relations with others

Freud: methods to avoid suffering: Voluntary isolation Human community Intoxication Displacements of libido (sublimation) Delusion: alternative reality Mass delusion=religion

Freud: Why does civilization bring discontent? Civilization is the result of human’s sublimating their instincts However, civilization demands too much: civilization can repress people and make them neurotic Civilization 1) makes people discontented; 2) is fighting a losing battle against aggression

Freud & the arts Liberate the unconscious mind—an escape from “civilization” Stream of consciousness (literature) –Proust, Joyce, Faulkner Surrealism (literature & visual arts) –Kafka –Miro, Klee, Dali, Kahlo, Magritte

Carl Jung ( ) Collective unconscious –Not personal, but shared by human beings in general –Encoded as archetypes: basic images, plot patterns, or character types reflecting the deep psychological needs of human beings, found in folklore, religious texts, & literature E.g., the child god, the hero, the wise old man (See Fiero 846)