Freud

1
Freud
2
Some basic principles

• Freuds major contributions to the history of
  thought include
• Human beings are fundamentally sexual
• The unconscious

3
The Dissolution of the Oedipus Complex

• The Oedipus Complex describes a very early
  relationship between parents and children. Very
  young children love their mothers (sexually) and
  are rivalours with their fathers.
• In order for the child to develop into a healthy
  adult, the Oedipus Complex needs to be dissolved.
  

4
The Oedipus Complex II

• The Oedipus Complex for the boy child operates as
  follows
• The boy is in love with his mother and
  competitive with his father
• The boy realizes his mother doesnt have a penis
• The boy sees his father does have a penis, and
  infers that the father must have taken the
  mothers penis
• The boy becomes afraid that the father will also
  take his penis castration anxiety
• Fearing the father, the boy gives up his love for
  his mother
• The internalized fear of the father develops into
  the super-ego, I.e, the individual sense of
  morality

5
Girl Child

• The Oedipus Complex is more complicated for girls
• First the girl is in love with her mother
• Then the girl realizes that she herself lacks a
  penis.
• She develops penis envy
• She turns her affections to her father in hopes
  of getting a penis
• Her desire for a penis changes into a desire for
  a baby
• She knows her father can give her a baby, so she
  retains her affections for him
• She has no pressing reason to give up her
  attachment to her father.

6
Differences between Boys and Girls

• Although Freud says that the girls Oedipus
  complex is simpler than that of the boy, the
  dissolution of the Oedipus Complex is less
  motivated in for the girl.
• The girl is less motivated to develop a superego
• The psycho-sexual development of girls is more
  mysterious

7
Criticisms of Freuds Oedipus Complex Ellis

• Ellis argues the problem with Freuds Oedipus
  Complex is that it depends on a normative
  conception of the nuclear family
• Freuds conception of the family develops from
  one particular version of the family, the western
  patriarchal family. However this form of family
  does not define all possible forms of family.
• Freud over emphasizes the sexual nature of the
  relationship between mother and child
• While it is natural to form very close and even
  mildly sexual relationships with people we are
  very intimate with, it is going to far to define
  the mother/child relationship as strong sexual
  attraction

8
Criticisms of Freuds Oedipus Complex feminist
critique

• Freud assumes the penis is desirable
• Freuds theory suggests that women are less moral
  than men
• Freuds theory suggests that women are more
  susceptible to psychological distrubances in
  adult life
• Freud claims women are mysterious. This betrays
  a masculine bias

9
Criticisms of Freuds Oedipus Complex

• Freuds theory is characterized by a biological
  determinism
• Freud has no awareness of the differences between
  sex and gender

10
Freud on the Fetish

• Freud notes that some people find non-sexual
  body parts to be sexual arousing. Eg. Foot
• This is the phenomenon of having a fetish
• In other contexts, a fetish is any object given
  more value than its actual use proscribes.
• Eg. A relgious icon. The crucifix, The star of
  David
• Eg. A national icon. The American Flag
• Eg. A commodity. A Prada bag.
• He further notes the person who has a fetish
  exhibits no suffering

11
Freud explains the sexual Fetish

• The sexual fetish arises as a response to
  castration anxiety.
• Rather than deal with the horrifying prospect
  that his mothers penis has been taken away, and
  the even more horrifying possibility that his own
  penis might be taken away, the boy child creates
  an alternate (deluded) explanation for his
  mothers lack of penis.
• He (subconsciously) makes up the story that his
  mother has not lost her penis, but that her penis
  has merely moved. Now it is her foot, or nose.

12
The fetish

• Freud futher explains, that foot fetishes are
  common, bc the boy may encounter his mothers
  lack of penis in looking up her skirt. The shoe
  or foot, is the first available substitute
• The prototype of the fetish is the penis
• The adult male (subconsciously) maintains the
  fetish and the myth associated with it AND at the
  same time consciously and rationally knows that
  the woman has no penis, not in her shoe or
  anywhere else
• Men with fetishes often find the sight of female
  genitals disturbing, bc it challenges their
  subconscious delusion.

13
Freuds fetish consequences and assumptions

• The person with a fetish can be sexually aroused
  easily as the fetishized body part is more
  accessible than genitals.
• Women can never have a fetish
• The assumption that the penis is desirable and
  hence that castration is a valid anxiety
• Makes the tacit assumption that sexuality and
  reproduction are equivalent