Lesson 3 Flashcards
Eros
In Freud’s analysis of the mind, eros is the life of instinct or instinct of sexual gratification.
Thanatos
In Freud’s analysis of the mind, the instinct of aggression, violence and death.
Freud
-Austrian neurologist
-Founder of psychoanalysis
-Mind can get ill or develop neurosis
-Neurosis = refers tothose symptoms which can be regarded as severe forms of ‘normal’ emotional experiences such as depression, anxiety or panic.
-Freud’s ideas about the development of the conscience are based on his beliefs about the development of the adult mind.
Conscious
Represents everything that we are aware of.
Pre conscious
Represents ordinary memory. While we are not consciously aware of this information at any given time, we can retrieve it and pull it into consciousness when needed.
Unconscious
A reservoir of feelings, thoughts, urges, and memories that outside of our conscious awareness
Superego
-Driven by “The Moral Principle”
-Control’s the id’s impulses and persuades ego to pursue moralistic goals
-Consists of conscience (which punishes ego with guilt) and ideal-self
-Content derived from parental upbringing
-Develops during ages of 3-5 in stage of psychosexual development
Ego
-Driven by “The Reality Principle”
-Decision making part of personality
-Mediates between unrealistic Id and external world
Id
-Driven by “The Pleasure Principle”
-Primitive and instinctive part of personality
-Entirely unconscious and cut off from external world
-Includes death instinct (thanatos) and sex instinct (eros)
The Freudian slip
-way to understand how conscious and unconscious mind operate
-reveal underlying unconscious thoughts or feelings
-e.g using former boyfriends name when referring to current
What did Freud believe the conscience to be?
Freud believed the conscience to be a psychological phenomenon.
It comes from the unconscious.
Superego as conscience
The controlling, restraining self.
Controls the Eros and Thanatos. Acts as an “inner parent” and gives moral commands. The conscience is the operating of the SE: giving moral commands and punishing us with guilt. Controls impulses which could damage society.
Conscience as an aspect of the superego
-The super-ego also has an important role in developing a person’s morality.
-It acts as an ‘inner parent’, in the sense that it can literally be the place where your parents’ moral commands delivered from infancy are stored, together with the commands of other authority figures.
-The conscience is an aspect of the operation of the super-ego. The rules and regulations given to us by authority figures, particularly one’s parents, are internalized so that we cannot escape them. To try to do so brings about guilt.
-In this way, conscience is the repository of our parents’ commands to us during childhood.
Conscience is thejudging function of the superegoand has both a conscious and unconscious function.
-On a conscious level, we are aware of conscience when we weigh actions in light of articulated belief e.g. When a person who believes in the sanctity of life contemplates registering for the military, their conscience might bother them for going against a conscious belief.
-On a preconscious or unconscious level, our conscience bothers us when our behaviour or potential behaviour is at odds with the content of the superego and we feel anxiety, fear or dread. E.g. So a strictly raised young adult might unconsciously avoid situations in which he is tempted to violate instilled beliefs.
