My review is not about any book which Freud has penned, but about himself as a psychologist .Well, frankly speaking the works of Sigmund Freud are very close to my heart, mainly because of my 3 year old association with Psychology as a discipline during my graduation. I still remember that day when we were introduced to the “Theory of Personality” and “Psychoanalysis”. Never had the lecture by the same professor appeared more interesting. Everything was same, but still there was something new and refreshing on 26th November, 1998. All along my journey into this new world of human behavior I had come across many schools of psychology, and though each aimed at giving an altogether different dimension to rationale behind what man does, none of them had really thrown light upon what we commonly refer to as the “beast in man, ” as one of the possible explanations for the same, and even those who did, were very subtle in their expressions. Freud went a step ahead, and revealed the power of what a person’s thoughts can do and went even to the extent of labeling man as a “pleasure seeking animal.” This title invited a lot of arguments not only from other psychologists but philanthropists as well since it focused only on the predominant sexual instincts in man. Most of the criticism came from Existentialism – a school which was based on the sole premise that all human beings are basically born good and have innate potential to develop themselves in whatever directions they choose, and if at all some unfortunate ones go astray and develop into anti-social personalities like criminals or murderers, it is mainly due to the societal pressures and the conditions and restrictions imposed upon them. As if this was not enough, his 4 phase theory of personality also faced brunt worldwide from not only his contemporaries but his students as well, some of whom parted ways with him to start their own schools of thought. The most “biting” aspect of his personality theory was a phenomenon of sexual orientation in both boys and girls at a very young age, what Freud called as the “Oedipus Complex” and “Electra Complex” respectively. According to Freud, in case of a boy, he starts to develop sexual feelings towards his mother at a very young age and at the same time starts hating his father, as he feels that he is the one who does not allow him to go near her. In such a state of affairs, the critics said that had this been the case , then the child would also try and think of all possible means to get rid of him. To this Freud replied , that since he is well aware of the fact, that his father is the bread winner for the family, (as constantly reiterated by the mother), the child suppresses those feelings and slowly starts looking up to his father, as he grows up and even idealizing him. Girls also undergo a similar growth experience. Infact, in today’s times we often say and find others saying that boys are usually more close to their mothers and girls to fathers, bringing in some shades of Freud’s theory in our lives. His other similar works went a long way in making him win the title of FATHER OF PSYCHOLOGY , and Psychoanalysis as the 3rd force in Psychology, the 1st & 2nd being Existentialism & Behaviourism, and even today Psychoanalysis is the only theory which is not only partially accepted but also used in the treatment of mental patients (Hypnosis being one of the techniques).
What I have written is just the tip of the iceberg, and can go on penning volumes, but the space to write is limited I guess. So, would like to conclude by saying that history has never witnessed such an influential psychologist like Freud whose theories are very realistic and who did not follow the herd, instead dared to chalk out a niche of his own.