freud Flashcards
his view on conscience
-it was just the result of psychological forces that science could understand
-when desire comes from unconscious id into conscious ego, we become aware of wanting to act on it, but r Super Ego then tells us whether the values of society allow it:
-if so=act.
-if not=conditioned to repress the desire (cause mental problems)
ethical implications of conscious
-conscience is not the voice of God in us, it is just what our society wants from us.
-society might be good or bad, so conscience isnt best guide
-there might not be a good or bad, if morality is merely the conditioning of societies on its members.
he was influenced by…..
Nietzsche
-human conscious mind (ego) developed by necessity when humans underwent the radical change from hunter-gatherer to farmer
-natural animalistic instincts (Id) were of less use to us in the new environment of society, they were a hinderance as they called on us to behave in ways that would make society fall apart
-consciouness=space inbetween our instincts + outside world as mediator which decide which instincts to act on+ which to not
theory of psychosexual development
-he thought that the process of being socialised required kids to learn to control their Id.
This process was developmental in that it comes in stages.
If self-control is not learned at a particular stage, it can lead to issues later in life.
-each stage involves particular way achieving gratification+degree + kind of satisfication at each stage will depend how its treated by others
oral stage
birth-1.5 years
-mouth is focus of libido
-Babies breastfeed, + explore the world by putting things in their mouth.
-Failure to develop properly during this stage can lead to smoking or overeating.
-**id dominates **
anal stage
*1.5-3 years old *
-pleasure is gained through exercising self-control over going to the toilet
-parent teaches importnaces of physical cleanseness
-potty trainer=authority figure-praise
-Those who overly-control become a control freak, those who do not learn to control enough become messy.
-conflict between id +e go
-**ego develops here **
Phallic stage
3-6 years old
-Children become aware of their genitals and their gender
-Oedipus and Electra complex develops (jealousy of the parent of the same sex for the time and attention they take from the parent of opposite same sex)
-Problems moving through this stage cause intimacy issues later in life.
-we identify with a parent +form an ego-ideal. want to be like that parent
-**superego starts **tells us ‘dont play w urself’
Latency stage
6-puberty
-Sexual desire develops and is repressed.
-Gender roles are learned.
-told whats r/w by lots of ppl
-**superego develops rapidly **
Mature genital stage
puberty-until death
-Controlled sexual desires result in a desire for love and marriage
-A person now has a fully developed conscience where the ego controls the Id with reference to the superego.
freud criticism
karl poper
-criticised by contemporary psychologists as not empirical enough
-karl said its ‘unfalsifiable’ as it could not say what would prove it wrong =not true empiricism
-he studied small samples, poor cross section of society+ unproper examinations=unscientific
-he said theres stuff in his theory w value but it needed to be subjected to proper scientific experiments
support
piaget
-used better science+ came to similiar conclusions as freud
-argued theres a funamental shifts in nature of conscince
-pre age 11: kids have heteronomous morality-associate actions as bad bc of influence of authority figures. eg parent yells at them so associate not doing it w/ being yelled it instead of action being dangerous/wrong
-after age 11: autonomous morality develops, begin to have abstract cognitive moral beliefs about how one ought to act + why
-the claim that conscience is the result of conditioning/socialisation is scientifically accurate according to Piaget.
freud critique of religions approach to developing conscience
-to keep social order depends on ppl repressing antisocial instincts
-religion encourages repression + it has ‘done great services for human civilization’ in ‘taming of the asocial instincts’
-he thought its passed its usefulness as a secular society would be far superior at enabling self control
religion as controlling instincts
-belief in view human nature is corrupted by og sin is just a method of dealing w r natural instincts, but a primitive + childish method that actually causes as much immorality + unhappiness as it prevents
-view we r inherintely sinful + only god=good doesnt provide motivation to follow religion rules= cause “backslidings into sin” + seeking of penance
reloigous approach to consience is external imposition by authority
-comparable to ‘childhood neurosis’
-rules r in place to reduce suffering, also cause suffereing thru repression + thus inspire unconscious resentment against civilisation
Freud argues that the better approach for society would be autonomy
-ppl rationally understand repressing instincts for good of social order, so capable of choosing autonomously to follow social rules
-so more likely to accept+follow rules+ make flexibility into rules
-effectiveness of reilgious rules as tools for social order depends on the notion that a God has decreed them, it burdens religious social order w psychology of external imposition+inflexibility of eternal unchanging ‘laws of god’
-society be better if it admit purpose of its social rules is maintance of social order rather than pretend sancity
