Reasons for Freuds Regard of Dreams Interpretation as Important in Understanding the Human Psyche - Assignment Example

 QUESTION 2: FREUD’S ACCOUNT OF DREAMS: REASONS FOR HIS REGARD OF THEIR INTERPRETATION AS IMPORTANT IN UNDERSTANDING THE HUMAN PSYCHE Dreams, as experienced by human beings, embody various involuntary occurrences within the mind, by way of various phases of sleep. Accordingly, dreams and their influences on the human conscience have, and continue being a primary means of understanding human nature as influenced by the sub-conscious. Sigmund Freud, through his – Freudian dream analysis – was and remains a core foundation, on which current psychology and psychiatry as fields of study, retain their basis. In his form of dream analysis, the content present, is because of both the manifestation, and subsequent latent content present within a dream. This is developed into the meaning that a dream, is both what is remembered (after waking up), and the hidden meanings suppressed in the sub-conscious part on the human mind. Dreams are indeed a unique phenomenon of the human psyche and nature, occurring during one’s sleep. Freud, throughout the early 19th century, made tremendous advances in the study and subsequent analysis of the various stages of human sleep; hence his standing as one of the leading expertise in the field of psychoanalysis. Nothing attests to his stature than his work – The Interpretation of Dreams (1900) – that utilized ‘an evolutionary biological basis, as its primary avenue of inference. This regarded that fact that nightly visions (as experienced in dreams), were the product of an individual’s inert psyche’.1 Terming it as “the royal road to the unconscious”, Freud viewed dreams as avenues through which humanity would be able to access the parts of the human mind, which are mainly inaccessible, by way of conscious thought’2. Accordingly, Freud (1920) provided his psychoanalytic theory that dreams, as other prevailing human psychological experiences, was/ can be best understood through two distinctive levels i.e. latent and manifest levels. It is on this foundational basis that modern research is rooted, proving that dreams indeed do contain information/data that is fundamentally meaningful in nature. Thus, appropriate interpretations, of the two aforementioned levels, and aid in one’s understanding of ‘when, whether, and how such human unconscious processes become truly relevant in day-to-day human interaction. In a dream, the two contexts aforementioned – manifest and latent content – are unique in, in the quest towards understanding the sub-conscious’.3 As provided in the field of psychoanalysis, dreams are a gateway towards understanding human personality or character traits as related to their pathology. This was educated by his perception that no human action was performed by chance, rather that all actions and thoughts were motivated by the inert sub-conscious to some degree/ level. Thus, as he perceived, in order for humanity to flourish in a civilized world, there is need for withholding of inert urges, as well as the suppression of impulses. Human Dreams: The Foundational Basis In order to understand dreams, as a unique human phenomenon, Freud advices on the need to understand the human mind. As earlier mentioned, human urges and impulses, do need to be suppressed in normal contexts. However, they also require some avenue of release, one-way or the other; coming to the surface in various disguised forms. As he noted, an avenue through which they are released is through human dreams. As influenced by the mind’s content, the unconscious may be at times extremely harmful or disturbing; thus, the prevailing nature in which the sub-conscious expresses itself. This is primarily through utility of symbolic language, as expressed by the mind. Through its three core parts i.e. ‘the Id, Ego and Superego, the mind is able to enact varying experiences upon an individual’s life both in the real life, and in the sub-conscious’.4 Freud’s categorization of the mind in terms of the three aforementioned categories was informed by the fact that dreams cannot become expressed in real-life contexts, when one is awake. The desires and impulses of the Id, expressed during dreams, are subsequently suppressed by the superego. The Id is centered on the prevailing primal human desires, pleasures, impulses, wish fulfillment and unchecked urges. The Ego, as the second part of the human mind, pertains to the conscious, moral, rational and hence ‘self-aware’ aspect of the mind (conscience). The Superego on its part primarily functions towards censoring the Id, in addition to being responsible for the enforcement of the ego’s moral codes. It is through dreams that an individual is able to get a glimpse of the inert id/ unconscious. In such a state, the impulsive guards present during one’s consciousness, are often lowered when dreaming; hence, the id is able to both express and act out the Id has hidden desires. Due to the nature of such a state of mind, very disturbing, and/ or even psychologically harmful desires, may be portrayed, hence the need for a form of ‘censor.’ The censorship is ‘enacted’ by the superego, which translates the disturbing content, into more acceptable, form that is symbolic in nature. This role is essential in preserving human sleep, the lack of which often results in nightmares, and a cold sweat, after waking up in such a state. The result of this inter-play of the mind is the presence of often confusing, and cryptic dream imagery that is often confusing once an individual is awake/ conscious. According to Freud ‘the reason why dreams are difficult to remember, is due to the superego’s role-play; working towards protecting the conscious mind, from the disturbing desires and imagery conjured in the sub-conscious’.5 To him, ‘dreams always did have both a latent and manifest content essential in understanding his underlying theory of psychoanalysis’.6 Dreams: Latent and Manifest Content Dreams do posses content in two principle forms i.e. latent and manifest content. The latter regards content, which may be interpreted as information that an individual remembers experiencing when he is conscious. It entails all pertinent elements of the dream i.e. thoughts, content and actual imagery, within the dream, which an individual is cognitively aware of when awake. It is often illustrated through the context of ‘iceberg imagery’, as such content is identified as portraying only the tip of what the mind experiences. As contextualized by psychoanalytic theory, ‘this content is but only partial representation of the vast underlying content. While initial imagery may appear as either nonsensical or bizarre, subsequent individual analysis may reveal the underlying meaning present. This is usually aided by way of psychoanalysis’.7 Latent content on the other hand, pertains to the distinctly separate dream content that is related to manifest content. As a distinct aspect, it illustrates an individual’s drives, desires and thoughts in terms of hidden meaning. Of concern in this context, is the unconscious mind-set (superego), which is able to suppress content that can be revealed in terms of latent content. This as earlier mentioned, is towards protecting individuals from feelings and imagery that may be too difficult to cope with. Freud (1900) was of the belief that ‘in uncovering the meanings of an individual’s deeper ideals and hidden motivations, this would lead to successful understanding of his/ her internal strife/ struggles. This would be achievable, by way of psychoanalysis (as part of the larger medical field psychiatry), through gradual resolving of pertinent issues, which were responsible for the creation of life tensions and subsequent stresses’.8 In contrast, latent content entails all things underneath the easily recognizable information, communicated/ experienced in human dreams. Through illustration, by way of ‘iceberg imagery’, the meaning’s depth is/ can be derived through examination of this layer; hence revealing the deeper underlying thoughts of the individual’s unconscious. As Freud rightly observed, ‘dreams do provide individuals with a glimpse of their unconscious; further alluding to the fact that the manifest content, can provide the underlying significance present. In trying to reveal the latent content, psychoanalysis utilizes the technique of – free association’.9 In utility of this technique, one starts from a given point, with a dream symbol/ imagery; following this with his/ her first automatic indication/perception conceived. Following this trend, one continues on the same path, ‘in the aim of perceiving all that one is able to remember. It is the interpretation of such cryptic imagery and thought-patterns, perceived during human sleep that allows psychiatrists to connect an individual with his/ her psyche’.10 Understanding the Human Psyche: Dream Interpretation and Analysis The human psyche can be defined as the ‘perception of the human mind in totality. This is in terms of both the un-/sub-conscious and conscious aspects of the human mind. The field of Psychology is concerned with the objective study of the human psyche essential in the overall understanding of inert human nature. From a scientific point of view, human psyche is often regarded as the existing forces within an individual fundamental in the influence of behavior, thought and personality. Accordingly, ‘Freud in his 1900 publication, initiated what is the contemporary drive in better understanding human nature, by way of psychoanalysis’.11 Considered as the father of psychoanalysis, Freud was of the belief that the human psyche is composed of the three components – the Id, Ego and Superego. As earlier mentioned, the Id is representative of the inert human instinctual drives, largely remaining in the sub-/ unconscious. The Superego, on its part, is representative of an individual’s conscience with respect to his/her internalization of morality and prevailing social norms. It is essential in its core task of acting as a ‘censor’, vital in protecting an individual’s mental balance from violent and disturbing imagery that may be perceived during dreams. The Ego, which represents the conscious, serves in the integration of the Id’s drives and desires, with the prohibitions enacted by the Superego. Consequently, it is regarded as the necessary balance between ‘the two, essential in the overall mental and subsequent physiological wellbeing of an individual. The lack of such a ‘balance’ has been attributed as the main cause of the varying forms of neurosis experienced by various populations’.12 It is thus vital for human beings to have a balance between these three core components of the human mind; the lack of which not only affects the individual concerned, but also the society in general. This is influenced by the fact that human psyche does influence human character traits and behavior, which affects those present around the affected individual. Thus, the best means of tackling mental imbalances (as most forms of neurosis are regarded), there is need for pro-active psychoanalysis. In his quest of better understanding his neurotic and often hysterical patients, Freud began his famous ‘self-analysis’ course. Noticing that dreams did play a critical role in his patient analyses, he began what was to later on chart the way forward; in terms of advancement in the scientific field of Psychology. ‘This was through his psychoanalytic theory, which was based on the encouragement of ‘free-association’ in his treatment’.13 This entailed his persuasion of patients to talk about what was on their minds, regardless of the subject/ content matter; later to note that a majority often referred to the various dreams they experienced. In this regard, the open-talk procedures, aided in the setting off, of other pertinent associations; which often illuminated prevailing connections to the patients’ past experiences. He further noticed that his psychotic patients experienced hallucinations, which essentially, were very much alike, to dreams experienced. It is thus on the basis of these observations that ‘Freud began his notion of dreams (experienced in sleep), were much like day-dreaming; all of which pertained to individual ‘wish fulfillment’.14 This may be perhaps the reason behind his – wish-fulfillment theory – having been an active dreamer himself. Through his critically acclaimed work, he explained the double level of dreams, in terms of latent and manifest content providing further analysis of the ‘wish-fulfillment’ aspect of dreams. This aspect, he described as being the unconscious trying to resolve existing conflicts; either in terms of recent occurrences, or from past experiences. His focus was upon the individual’s biologic drives, stating that when individuals observe something while dreaming, it is symbolic of something in the real/ conscious world. it is perhaps this kind of thinking, which resulted in his much criticism by colleagues such as Adler, Jung and Breuer, who termed him as being misanthrope/ sexist in his analysis; over-emphasizing on the role of human instinct. In his interpretation of dreams, as Schacter (2009) avers, he mainly utilized the ‘free association technique, where he usually began with the analysis of specific dream imagery/ symbol to be followed by the affected individual’s preceding thought. In furthering his investigative practice, Freud classified five distinct processes, which are essential in facilitating dream analysis’.15 These processes were displacement, projection, symbolization, condensation and rationalization. Displacement, occurred when an individual’s desire for a given item/ situation, was symbolically represented by another individual or item. In projection, the dreamer propels inert personal wants and desires, onto another person. Symbolization regards the individual’s unconscious, which allows for the metaphorical enactment of repressed inert desires and urges. Condensation on its part, entailed the process through which the dreamer is able to hide the inert urges and/ feelings, by way of either minimizing or contraction of its representation. This is achieved by way of translating such feelings and/ urges, into ‘brief dream events or imagery. Lastly, rationalization entails the final phase of the dream, where the dreaming mind does intently organize the incoherent dream experience, into logical and hence comprehensible matter’.16 To be noted is that core to his theories and ideals, Freud was of the perspective that the prevailing universality of symbols, as well as associated imagery (as experienced in dreams), was critical in their interpretation. Through such symbolism, the symbols highlighted the socially undesirable behavior present within dreams, to more socially acceptable content-matter. Through such actions, the distasteful and often disturbing imagery is symbolized into things, which are associated, in terms of various aspects such as quality, sound, status, color, action, and shape, amongst others. Pertinently so, according to his understanding, was that by practicing ‘free-association’ between the affected individual and his/ her psychiatrist, the patient was able to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying meaning(s) of the dreams experienced. In this regard, the prevailing ‘regressive thoughts, affiliated with the sub-conscious segment of the mind, could have an outlet’.17 Conclusion It is without doubt, that Freud’s input and analysis of dreams was a ‘game-changer’ within the larger scientific field of human Psychology. His influences were to greatly impact in the manner in which the varying forms of human mind imbalances could be first conceived, and subsequently treated. His psychoanalytic methodology was to influence the field of human studies for most of the 20th century, to be subsequently replaced by cognitive analysis as an avenue of mental treatment. In due respect, his input into the field of psychology was, is and shall continue being a reference point for all professionals, individuals and experts concerned with the study and understanding of the human mind. It is only through grasp of what entails the human mind that psychiatrists are able to better understand human nature and behavior as influenced by the inert human psyche. Bibliography Freud, Sigmund. (Interp. Brill, A.A., James Strachey and Joyce Crick), Interpretation of dreams (Standard Ed., 5.) (Vienna & Leipzig: Franz Deuticke/ Macmillan, 1900). ­-----------. Manifest Dream Content and Latent Dream Thought: A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis. (New York. Boni & Liveright, 1920). Friedman, Howard and Miriam Schustack. Personality: Classic Theories and Modern Research. (5th Ed.).(Boston. Allyn & Bacon, 2010). Marinelli, Lydia and Andreas Mayer A. Dreaming by the Book: Freud's 'The Interpretation of Dreams' and the History of the Psychoanalytic Movement (Illustrated edition). (New York: Other Press, 2003). Modelli, Arnold H. "Psychoanalysis, Neuroscience and the Unconscious Self." Psychoanalytic Review 99, no. 4 (2012): 475-83. Accessed May 25, 2014. http://guilfordjournals.com/doi/abs/10.1521/prev.2012.99.4.475?journalCode=prev Reber, Arthur S. and Emily S. Reber. The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology 3rd edition. (New York: Penguin Reference, 2001). Schacter, Gilbert. Psychology (2nd Ed.). (New York: Worth Publishers, 2009). Valsiner, Jaan and Alberto Rosa. The Cambridge Handbook of Socio-cultural Psychology (illustrated edition). (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007). Read More