Freud - religious is a product of the mind

Question 1

What did Freud describe religion as?

Answer 1

an illusion and or/a neurosis with reference to collective neurosis

Question 2

Oedipus complex?

Answer 2

the attachment of the child to the parent of the opposite sex creates envy and aggressive feelings towards the parent of the same sex.
these feelings are repressed because of fear of punishment by the parent of the same sex

Question 3

Supportive evidence includes?

Answer 3

reference to the redirection of guilt complexes and reference to instinctive desires deriving from an evolutionary basis (Charles Darwin).

Question 4

Challenges include?

Answer 4

ack of anthropological evidence for the primal horde, no firm psychological evidence for the universal Oedipus complex, and an evidence basis too narrow.

Question 5

Freud ( 1836-1939_?

Answer 5

Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis

Question 6

He claimed there were 3 parts of the human psyche?

Answer 6

id ego and the superego

Question 7

the id?

Answer 7

the unsconscious desires which are innate and natural but not always pleasant

Question 8

superego?

Answer 8

unconscious controls taught to us by society that have been become engrained

Question 9

Ego?

Answer 9

the mostly unconscious part of out mind that tried to mediate between the id and the superego
the desires of the id can conflict with the limitation of the supereo and when this conflict is repressed ( sublimation) - it can result in a neurosis
according to freud - religion = an illusion derived from human wishes which stops us thinking critically and rationally
he made comparisons between religion and neurotic disorders - concluding that they are both products of the human mind

Question 10

Comparisons between neurosis and religion?

Answer 10

Neurosis - obsessive-compulsive behaviour
religion - ritualistic and repetitive behaviour

Neurosis - induces calm when repeated correctly
religion - the rituals reassure participants over matters of the soul e,g pray or you will go to hell

Neurosis - creates anxiety when not completed
Religion - creates guilt when not completed

Neurosis - ritual is symbolic of a psychological struggle
Religion - the ritual is symbolic of a spiritual struggle

Question 11

What did Freud call religion and why?

Answer 11

universal obsessional neurosis or collective neurosis, which is suffered by all human beings as they try to repress their most basic desires from the ID when they conflict with the expectations of the superego.

Question 12

Primal horde theory?

Answer 12

The concept originates from Darwinism, suggesting that collective neurosis stems from the primal horde, a social unit in primitive societies led by a dominant male who claimed all females. Younger males, driven by the desire to challenge this leader (ID) while respecting him (superego), might kill the dominant male to access females but subsequently feel guilt from their actions linked to the superego. As the horde evolved, this act became symbolized as a totem and idolized. Rituals, including sacrifices and totemic feasts, reenacted the killing, leading to taboos against murder as a response to the guilt from the original act.

Question 13

Oedipus complex?

Answer 13

Freud argued that the experience of the primal horde is inherited by every male, linking the Oedipus complex to the foundation of religious beliefs and behaviors. In the Greek myth, Oedipus unknowingly kills his father and marries his mother, illustrating the conflict in a boy who, while desiring his mother (ID), also loves his father (superego). This unresolved conflict can lead to neurosis, with religion seen as an immature solution that individuals might outgrow if they could resolve this conflict rationally, viewing the “father is perceived as an obstacle.”

Question 14

Wish fulfillment?

Answer 14

Freud, drawing on Feuerbach’s ideas, proposed that religion arises from unconscious wishes stemming from fear of helplessness. People desire safety and a sense of justice, and the attributes of God reflect these wishes for a protective father figure. Religious doctrines fulfill these childish desires and use taboos to manage our urges. Practices like prayer and rituals create an illusion of control over life’s challenges, despite our actual limited power.

Question 15

Supporting evidence
Little Hans?

Answer 15

Freud’s successful treatment of a 5-year-old boy was used as evidence to support his theories
Hans presented with a phobia that a horse would bite him
He had previously witnessed a horse collapse and die in front of him
Form that point, he hated horses wearing bits on their mouth and blinkers covering their eyes
As a younger child, he had an obsession with his own penis and at one point the mother threatend that the doctor would cut it off
Freud made the conclusion that Hans’s fear of the horse was symbolic of his fear that his father would punish him via castration for desiring his mother ( oedipus complex)
The horse represented his father with his mustache, glasses and larger penis

Question 16

the wolfman?

Answer 16

Sergei pankejeff was an adult patient who, in his youth, dreamt of a tree of white wolves that he thought would eat him
He then presented with a childhood phobia of animals
As a child, he witnessed sexual acts between his parents several times
As he grew older, he had periods of religious further ( intense religious behaviour) that became so obsessive that he looked to freud to help for repeated bouts of depression
He concluded that pankejeff had associated his parents with the animals having sex
His desires that witnessing these acts caused him to come into conflict with the fears of what would happen if he did
The repressed trauma of this situation resulted in the fear of wolves but also the fear of God

Question 17

Evolutionary evidence?

Answer 17

Freud supported his Oedipus complex with evolutionary theory, drawing on the concept of the primal horde. Although he valued evolutionary ideas, his understanding may not align with modern scientific views. He believed that studying child development could reconstruct human prehistory, asserting that ontogeny mirrors phylogeny. Incorporating Lamarck’s ideas, he suggested that acquired characteristics could be inherited. Freud cited totemism in ancient societies as evidence of inherited guilt from the primal horde. He viewed Darwinism as a basis for all human behavior being shaped by natural selection, oversimplifying complex traits like high sex drive as advantageous for survival, which is why sexuality is central to his analysis.

Question 18

Challenges?

Answer 18

Freud’s theories lack anthropological support, as there is no evidence that humans exclusively formed hordes as he described. Other primates exhibit a variety of social systems and do not universally display sexual aggression leading to killing or cannibalism, a behavior not consistently found in primitive humans either. Not all societies practice totem worship, nor do all totemic societies engage in ritualistic killing or consumption of their totems. Additionally, Lamarck’s idea of inherited acquired characteristics misinterprets evolutionary theory, and the connection between ontogeny and phylogeny remains unproven.

Question 19

No firm psychological evidence of the oedipus complex?

Answer 19

Malinowski’s anthropological fieldwork in New Guinea found no evidence of the Oedipus complex in societies with a dominant father figure. He found no indication of inherited guilt complexes from a primal crime, suggesting that the Oedipus complex may be just one of many explanations for neuroses and complexes in humanity, rather than the sole explanation.

Question 20

Evidence based?

Answer 20

Freud’s theories are based on a narrow evidence base, as he overlooked religions centered on female deities and polytheistic pantheons. His approach generalized findings from a limited group of unwell individuals to all of humanity.