Freud’s Discontents
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Freud’s Discontents
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Re: Freud’s Discontents
#2>he was “no more a person now but a whole climate of opinion.”
>it is rather shocking how swiftly, [..] Freud’s relevance has waned in the past two decades
I think the first quote answers the second: it was just a climate of opinion, with very little of substance to back it up. And so it has rightly been discarded. Not that we don't have new fashionable opinions to take its place, many no more substantial.
>It is more common now to regard humanity as lucid about its interests, and rational in its fulfillment of them
Wut? The opposite is true. We are more and more aware of the foibles of human perception and thinking, but nowadays based on a solid scientific foundation, not the fantasies of a ... well, imaginative person.
Re: Freud’s Discontents
#3Outstanding essay on why Freud has faded from his ultimate cultural and scientific pedestal -- and why and other grand theorists are not relevant today.
I agree with the author that "The grand theories of an earlier age offered us an ability to look at the intersections between the self, society, and history; in comparison, their replacements look not just intellectually meek but politically unpromising."
On the other hand, the potency of well defined, minimal theories is unarguable.
Re: Freud’s Discontents
#4> Instead of believing that pathologies could be described or drugged away, Freudians wanted us to work through them.
If this is true, then it's definitely a practice that needs to be focused on again. I've had nothing but bad experiences with various medical professionals throwing drugs at me the moment I mentioned personal difficulties. The anti-depressants kept me in a bad place for a long time, when I think I mostly needed someone to provide some insight or constructive advice. Maybe I just had bad luck, but I definitely don't remember anyone trying to work on anything with me.
Re: Freud’s Discontents
#5Excuse my ignorance, but why does everyone seem to hate on Freud, considering he has had a tremendous influence on modern psychology? Honest question.
Re: Freud’s Discontents
#6Excuse my ignorance, but why does everyone seem to hate on Freud, considering he has had a tremendous influence on modern psychology? Honest question.
Probably because he was wrong so often, and his ideas got popular. Being wrong in a medical field is Not Good - it leads to real harm. I've heard it phrased as "he had the wrong answers, but the right questions".
Re: Freud’s Discontents
#7I've heard that Freud's methods were poor and his brain science was junk; but I can't actually name any particular bad theory or experiment. This article did not enlighten me, at least in the first ten minutes reading it.
Anyone know of a good guide? And, since it's Freud, one that won't turn my stomach?
Re: Freud’s Discontents
#8Excuse my ignorance, but why does everyone seem to hate on Freud, considering he has had a tremendous influence on modern psychology? Honest question.
The problem with Freud is that his ideas have been taken seriously for way too long. His theories of human psychology are on par with phrenology in their ability to provide a framework that explains human behavior. It's rank pseudo-science.
And now, finally, evolutionary psychology is gaining widespread acceptance.
Re: Freud’s Discontents
#9> Instead of believing that pathologies could be described or drugged away, Freudians wanted us to work through them. If this is true, then it's definitely a practice that needs to be focused on again. I've had nothing but bad experiences with various medical professionals throwing drugs at me the moment I mentioned personal difficulties. The anti-depressants kept me in a bad place for a long time, when I think I mos…
>> If this is true, then it's definitely a practice that needs to be focused on again. I've had nothing but bad experiences with various medical professionals throwing drugs at me the moment I mentioned personal difficulties.
I've found it to be true. Understanding where my undesirable behaviors come from is helping me correct them tremendously. It can be a painful process - expect to get worse before you get better - but it can be effective if you're working with the right person. For me the mental picture was less like an onion and more like a tangled knot of yarn, but it is straightening out quite nicely.
I personally don't like the Freudian approach. There are other non-drug based camps.
Re: Freud’s Discontents
#10I've heard that Freud's methods were poor and his brain science was junk; but I can't actually name any particular bad theory or experiment. This article did not enlighten me, at least in the first ten minutes reading it. Anyone know of a good guide? And, since it's Freud, one that won't turn my stomach?
There's a lot of nonsense thrown around about Freud. If you're interested, there's nothing better to just read the man himself. You can form your own opinions and you'll get a lot more out of it than reading someone's inevitably biased commentary.