Dream Interpretation Using The Theories Of Sigmund Freud And Carl Jung
Dreams have been a mystery since the first humans dreamed. Dreams can be full of emotions and feelings. Many common dream situations are, running slow when needing to get somewhere fast, falling from a very high and waking up just before hitting the ground, and of course, flying. The situational possibilities in dreams are endless. But what do these dreams mean? Psychologists, in particular, are the most interested in dreams. But how can one analyze dreams when they are so abstract and impossible to see in someone else? One psychologist took on the challenge to implement scientific techniques in the analysis of dreams. His name was Sigmund Freud.
Sigmund Freud was a deeply respected Austrian neurologist who was the first one to coin the term, “psychoanalysis”. Psychoanalysis is way to treat mental disorders that focuses on the unconscious mind. Freud wanted to analyze the deep psyche of his patients and uncover feelings and ideas that they were not aware of. He believed that dreams were a window into the unconscious mind. He wanted to help patients with hysteria and psychosis and he believed that dream interpretation was a great way to help patients. In 1907 Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung met in person. They talked for hours and started to collaborate together. After a while, Freud and Jung started to disagree on each other's ideas. Jund didn’t enjoy how Sigmund Freud believed that everything revolved around the libido, one’s sex drive. Jung was more focused on the collective unconscious- the idea that one inherit memories, ideas, and personality traits from their ancestors. Freud was purely scientific and detested that Jung believed in superficial ideas. These ideas were the basis for dream interpretation for both of these individuals. Both had a difference in opinion when it came to how to interpret dreams, and in 1913 Jung resigned and parted ways with Sigmund Freud. They both went on and developed their ideas more in-depth on the unconscious mind and dream analysis.
Modern-day dilemma
More than 100 years have passed since the parting ways of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, and psychologist today still have a problem with interpreting dreams. Although technology has advanced to the point where scientists can see the brain and all it does, people still aren't able to see dreams and instantly know what they mean. That is where the art of dream interpretation comes in. Psychiatrist use dream interpretation. Many patients have psychological issues that although can be temporarily solved with medication, must be fixed by going to the root of the problem. The question is, what is the best way to interpret dreams? Which method presented by Jung or Freud more effective in helping a patient. These methods are needed in order to find distinct underlying causes of psychological disorders in each patient. In order to understand their interpretation of dreams, their theories on the unconscious mind are needed to understand them more fully.
Freud's Theory On The Unconscious Mind
The big difference between Freud's and Jung’s theories are their views on the unconscious mind. Freud believed that there were three systems to the mind, the id, ego, and superego. The id is our deepest desires and instincts. It is the animal that all humans derive from. All animals are born with deoxyribonucleic acid- or DNA- which has the code for survival. The id is like the psychological DNA for the brain. Humans are not aware of the desires it wants, but it responds immediately to our aggressive and sexual impulses and instincts. This part of the unconscious mind does not grow and is not affected by external sources. It is selfish, primitive and does what it wants regardless of societal constructs.
The ego is the realistic part of the mind. It is based off logic and is derived from the id. Because the id only acts on impulse and irrational thought, the ego must keep it in check and live according to reality. It finds ways to satisfy the id without achieving negative consequences from society. Although it tries to find realistic ways to satisfy its pleasure-seeking, it has no concept of right or wrong. It gets what it wants without hurting itself in the process. It controls our impulses and steers the id away from unwanted situations. Freud compared it to a man on a horse. In the book The Ego and the Id, Freud explains, “Thus in its relation to the id it is like a man on horseback, who has to hold in check the superior strength of the horse [the id]. . . Often a rider, if he is not to be parted from his horse, is obliged to guide it where it wants to go; so in the same way the ego is in the habit of transforming the id's will into action as if it were its own. ”
The superego is the third part of this system and focuses on what is right and what is wrong. People learn this at a young age from parents and society. The job of the superego is to stop the id from pursuing impulses and to urge the ego to act on goals that are morally good and not just goals that are realistic. The superego can make someone feel really guilty or really proud.
Jung's Theory On The Unconscious mind
Jung’s theory was a little different than Freud's theory. He too believed that the mind was made up of different parts, but they were not the same as Freud’s. The main systems in Jung’s theory are the ego, the personal unconscious, and the collective unconscious. The ego is the conscious mind. It contains the emotions, thought processes, and memories a person is aware of. It is who the person is to themselves.
When it came to the unconscious mind, Jung believed that there were two layers to it, the personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. The personal unconscious to Jung is basically the Freudian version of the unconscious mind, but he added a bit onto it. He explained that there were “complexes”. These complexes are a combination of thoughts, memories, and feelings that focus on a single subject or concept. Jung didn’t believe the unconscious mind went as far as to have repressed childhood experiences tied to most things. He believed things were not as deep as that and more concerning the present.
The collective unconscious is where Jung and Freud disagreed on the most. Jung believed that memories of our evolutionary ancestors were hidden in our psyche. He explained that the human mind had distinctive traits that they are all born with as a result of our evolution. For example, how humans are instinctively afraid of spiders, snakes, the dark, scorpions, etc. With the collective unconscious in mind, he believed the memories and images hidden in there are called archetypes. Jung stated in the book, Collected works of C. G. Jung volume 9, part 1: The archetypes and the collective unconscious, ”The term 'archetype' this applies only indirectly to the 'representations collectives,' since it designates only those psychic contents which have not yet been submitted to conscious elaboration and are therefore an immediate datum of psychic experience”. Meaning the collective unconscious has different archetypes that represent the different categories in the collective unconscious. To Jung, these archetypes have meanings that are universal to all humans. “In his early theory of archetypes he said that they were patterns of instinctual expression, an efficient cause, analogous to those seen in animals”. This means that many problems that human face that are psychological are rooted in every human and come from a primitive state.
How dreams are tied to the unconscious mind
In Freudian theory, the id, ego, and superego make up the mental processes in the mind. Freud believed that when people go to sleep, the ego and superego weaken. This, in turn, would allow the id to be free to think without the ego and superego restraining it. To Freud, this is the reason why dreams are so strange and abstract. It is also the reason why people don’t think about their actions too much in dreams. Brain scans have shown that parts of the frontal lobe are inactive during the “dream” state and is what causes people to accept all of the absurd things seen in dreams. Jung, on the other hand, believed that dreams were not only tied to the personal unconscious, but also the collective unconscious. Jung believed that dreams are a way to see the “true self” and that includes the personal and collective unconscious.
Symbolism
When it came to symbolism, Freud and Jung had very different ideas. Freud believed that objects seen in dreams were all derived from a sexual nature. For example, if someone saw a big stick in a dream, Freud would tie that back to a penis. Freud believed that because the id was responsible for this. The dream to him was a wish fulfillment. Desires can be fulfilled in dreams that otherwise would never would have been accomplished in life due to the ego and superego. He believed that developmental milestones of humans’ repressed nature needed to be achieved, ones that couldn't be achieved in real life; symbols in dreams were a way to hit those milestones. Jung did not like how Freud tied everything back to a repressed sexual desire. Jung believed that the collective unconscious played a big part in the development of dreams and bring up symbols that are universally significant to humans, the archetypes. He believed that these were needed to transcend to something beyond themselves. Symbols in dreams to Jung is a mixture of individual meanings from daily life and archetypal meanings.
When it came to the topic of neurosis, Freud believed that neurosis developed due to the clashing of instincts- the id, ego, and superego. Dreams were a way to get those needs met without having to endure the “steering” of the ego. Jung thought that neurosis came from the repression of traits that someone does not consider “themselves”. These traits integrated with the “shadow”. The shadow is an archetype that contains traits and thought process not only unacceptable to society, but unacceptable to one’s own morals and ideals. Jung suggested the shadow can appear in dreams and assume different forms. It can appear as a snake, a monster, or some dark, wild figure. When the shadow gets too out of control and starts to rule the personality, that’s where neurosis comes in.
Dreams and Repressions
Freud believed that respressions came from childhood trauma. Jung believed that although repressions can come from childhood trauma and play a major part in repressing thoughts, they can also happen throughout life. He believed that whatever the ego did not want to be associated with at all can become a repression.
References
- FREUD, S. (1923). EGO AND THE ID. S. l.: CLYDESDALE PR LLC.
- Horne, M. , Sowa, A. , & Isenman, D. (2000).
- Jung, C. G. (1959). Collected works of C. G. Jung volume 9, part 1: The archetypes and the
- collective unconscious. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
