The problems of man, his inner world aroused no less interest of philosophers than the problems of global development. This was reflected in the philosophy of psychoanalysis, which tried to find a way out of the impasse in which philosophical science was placed at the beginning of the 20th century as a result of the collision of two concepts. The first is positivism, operating exclusively on natural science knowledge, the second is irrationalism, which relied on assumptions realized through intuition, faith, feelings.
The emergence of psychoanalysis
The philosophy of psychoanalysis has had an invaluable influence on the development of philosophical science, as well as on the spiritual culture of society. The ancestor of psychoanalysis was the Austrian psychiatrist Z. Freud, who created, first of all, a method of treating patients. On its basis, the concept of philosophical views on the essence of man and culture was formed.
Z. Freud and hisfollowers - G. Jung, K. Horney, E. Fromm - are practicing doctors who pursue the goal of curing patients and understand that the philosophy of psychoanalysis is much more extensive than medical practice, and with its help it is possible to create new methods of treatment. It was psychoanalysis that gave impetus to the formation of new concepts, views on philosophical issues, such as the philosophy of anthropology, life, and culture. Its peculiarity was its focus exclusively on the person, his psyche, problems.
What is psychoanalysis
As mentioned above, Freud was a practicing psychiatrist, receiving patients for 10 hours a day. Therefore, psychoanalysis is a medical method of cure, a part of psychotherapy, originally used for patients with hysteria. And already later, in the process of working on it, it was accepted as a philosophical doctrine. Its essence lies in the fact that certain pathological ideas, most of which are of a sexual nature, are forced out of the field of consciousness and act from the sphere of unconsciousness, from where, under various garb, they penetrate into the sphere of consciousness, destroying the unity of the human "I" and the world around him.
Freud and his works
Freud was born and spent most of his life in Vienna. Here he received a medical education at the university, after which he engaged in medical practice. It was here that his work on the philosophy of psychoanalysis saw the light, which enjoyed incredible success and had a fairly powerful critical assessment. The conclusions that he presented in them excitedsociety and cause controversy to this day. It was a challenge to classical philosophy, which focused on the human mind.
In 1899, his first work on psychoanalysis, The Interpretation of Dreams, was published, which is still relevant and is a reference book for many leading practicing psychiatrists. Literally a year later, his new book, The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, is published. It is followed by "Wit and its relation to the unconscious" and other significant works. All his works, both philosophical and medical, were immediately translated into different languages of the world. They are still very popular today.
Classical philosophy stated that consciousness is the main regulating component of human life. The philosophy of Freud's psychoanalysis established that under it are layers of unconscious desires, aspirations, drives. They are filled with energy, the personal life of every person and, along with this, the fate of civilizations depend on them.
The conflict of the unconscious with consciousness, the dissatisfaction of innermost desires lead to mental disorders, mental illness. Modern Western philosophy of psychoanalysis emerged from the work of Freud. The method of psychoanalysis has become widespread among doctors in Western Europe and especially America.
Two stages in the philosophical activity of Z. Freud
Medical practice, observation of patients gave the scientist a large amount of information for reflection. On theon its basis, work was carried out that formed certain views on the issues of psychoanalysis by Z. Freud - a philosophy with certain aspects that can be divided into two stages. The first is the formation of the concept of the unconscious, its duration lasted from 1900-1920. The second lasted until the end of life. It is at this stage that the unconscious is explored, including here the instinctive cosmic urges of life and death.
First stage
At the beginning of his practice, collecting and analyzing experimental data, Freud makes amazing conclusions about the presence in the psyche of people of previously unknown formations that have a certain structure and characteristics. Based on his findings, he describes them as conscious, subconscious, and unconscious.
Despite the fact that the Western philosophical school emphasized consciousness, Freud's philosophy of psychoanalysis paid all attention to the unconscious. She defines it as a part of the psyche, where unconscious human desires that are outside the mind and timeless space are pushed.
Second stage
Based on the revision of the concept in the philosophy of psychoanalysis by Sigmund Freud, the unconscious has received some clarifications. Further study of it led to the fact that two more were added to the instinctive urges - death and life. It was during this period that the structure of the psyche was described, as well as the concept of conflict between the unconscious and the conscious as a principle of human existence.
Three components of the structure of the psyche
Summarizing the philosophy of Freud's psychoanalysis, it should be noted that the human psyche has three structures that can be described as:
1. Unconscious (It). This layer of the psyche is inherited by a person from distant ancestors. It is in it that two basic human instincts are located:
- Procreation is sexual drive and energy, or, according to Freud, Libido.
- Self-preservation. Specifies aggressive behavior.
The unconscious, according to Freud, is beyond the reasonable, in other words, it is irrational and immoral (immoral).
2. Subconscious (I). It is formed on the basis of life experience. "I" is reasonable, and, in accordance with reality, tries to translate the unconscious "It" in accordance with the moral principles of the "Super-I". Its purpose is to limit the reflex impulses of "It" in accordance with the current requirements of the reality in which the person is.
3. Consciousness (Super-I). It can be defined as the conscience or judge that controls and punishes the unconscious "It". It is in it that all the norms of morality, morality, all the ideals of a person are concentrated.
At the same time, each component lives its own life and does not depend on others. Even getting acquainted with the philosophy of psychoanalysis briefly, we can conclude that consciousness is violence against natural instincts.
Meaning of libido
Freud, in his philosophy of psychoanalysis, introduces the concept of libido (sexual desire or desire) into the unconscious "It" as a constituent instinct. And histhe energy is so great that it leaves an unforgettable mark on a person's life. Exploring it, he comes to the conclusion that libido includes, in addition to erotic love, all its other types: for oneself, children, parents, animals, Motherland, and so on.
Sometimes the unconscious (It) sends a powerful sexual challenge, but for some reason it comes back, or simply its impulse becomes less intense, discharged, switches to other, higher areas of human activity. It can be art, science, politics, social activities and so on.
From this Freud draws the logical conclusion that culture, morality and any other human activity is a sublimated (redirected and transformed) sexual need. According to the philosophy of Freud's psychoanalysis, any culture on Earth, including European, is the fruit of the activity of neurotics, whose sexual desires were suppressed and transformed into other types of human activity.
Psychoanalysis and neo-Freudian philosophy
Freud's ideas were picked up by his followers, their work on the development and further understanding of psychoanalysis led to new views on it. His students and followers went further, comprehending and developing psychoanalysis. In the philosophy of the 20th century, psychoanalysis occupies a significant place. The most famous representatives of neo-Freudianism are E. Fromm, K. Horney, G. Sullivan.
They recognized a certain role of the unconscious, the role of instincts, but at the same time believed thatSocial factors are also important, which include social ties, relationships between people, as well as culture. They believed that the conditions in which a person lives significantly affect his behavior in society and the content of his activities.
The differences with Freud consisted primarily in the fact that they, in comparison with him, who accepts only sexual energy, recognized the participation of consciousness and the social factor in the development of the personality. That is, they leaned towards classical philosophy, recognizing only the role of consciousness.
The role of neo-Freudians in the development of the theory of the unconscious is great. This can be explained by the fact that they study not only individual, but also social consciousness, dividing it into conscious and unconscious. They operate with such a concept as overcompensation - a social response to a feeling of inferiority. This is the basis for the emergence of great people endowed with remarkable abilities.
From this follows the conclusion: if Freud tried to find out the reason for a person to commit certain actions, then his followers, using the basic ideas of the philosophy of psychoanalysis, tried to explain the social structure of life in which this person lives.
Carl Jung and his doctrine of the "collective unconscious"
A. Adler (personal psychology) and K. Jung (depth psychology) subsequently departed from the followers of Freud and formed their own directions. Representative of the philosophy of psychoanalysis K. Jung - Swiss psychiatrist, philosopher, colleague of Freudfor several years. His work expanded and strengthened the position in this direction. It is Jung who creates a new trend in the philosophy of culture - analytical psychology.
He was a champion of the treatment of the sick and Freud's philosophy of psychoanalysis. Jung, who fully shared the medical and philosophical views of his older comrade and teacher, eventually parted ways with him regarding the unconscious. In particular, this applies to libido.
Jung did not agree with the philosophy of Freud's psychoanalysis that all the impulses of "It" were attributed to sexuality, he interpreted it much more widely. According to Jung, libido is all types of life energy that a person perceives as unconscious desires, aspirations.
According to Jung, the libido is not in an unchanged state, but undergoes transformation and complex transformations due to difficult life situations, and all this is far from sexuality. In this regard, experiences and images arise in the minds of people that are associated with ancient events of the beginning of people's life. These are not just words, Jung took these facts from his medical practice. It is the philosophy of Jung's psychoanalysis that gives the unconscious "It" a collective and impersonal beginning, and only after that a subjective and individual one.
What are archetypes
The collective unconscious makes up archetypes - universal basic innate structures, they are the cause of experiences of events from the ancient history of the origin of mankind, which can appear to a person in dreams and cause unrest and mental disorders, they are the onethe environment from which the spiritual life of man and the entire culture of mankind is formed.
Definitions of most archetypes have become common nouns and entered the everyday life of people, like sayings, for example:
- Mask - a person's face, which he "pulls on" in any contact with strangers, as well as at official meetings;
- Shadow - the second face of a person, which consists of vicious character traits or unacceptable qualities repressed into the subconscious.
Of great importance for a person, according to Jung's definition, is the archetype "My true Self" or "Self", which is a synthesis of all archetypes. A person should be engaged in the comprehension of this “I” throughout his life. The first results of this development, according to Jung, appear no earlier than middle age.
At this time, a person already has enough life experience. This also requires a mandatory high level of development of the intellect, persistent work on oneself. Only by reaching the cherished peak, a person can be fully realized, understand the “incomprehensible”, closed to mere mortals. Few know it, most of it is not given.
E. Fromm and his concept of "existential dichotomy"
The German philosopher, psychoanalyst E. Fromm, a follower of Freud's teachings, introduced the concepts of existentialism and Marxism into psychoanalysis. He formulated his concept in the book "The Soul of Man". The concept of "existentialism" can be defined as a philosophy of survival, which stands on the duality of humanentities. Dichotomy is a split, a gradual division into two entities, the internal connection of which is more tangible than the external one. An example is a person who is essentially a biological being, but the presence of his mind takes him out of this circle, makes him an outsider in the natural world, separates him from nature.
The philosophy of existentialism and psychoanalysis is, according to Fromm, a humanistic psychoanalysis designed to study the personality of a person from the point of view of his relationship with society, namely the attitude of a person towards himself, the people around him and society.
Fromm attached great importance to love. He argued that the emergence of a feeling, its development change a person, make him better, reveal hidden depths in him, qualities that can ennoble him, raise him to an unprecedented height. It manifests responsibility for another, a feeling of attachment to a loved one, to the whole world. This leads a person from pernicious selfishness to humanistic feelings and altruism.
