Major Works: The Interpretation of Dreams, 1899; The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, 1901;The Ego and The Id, 1923; Civilization and its Discontents, 1930
The mere mention of Sigmund Freud inspires reaction from anyone hearing his name. Freud continues to draw criticism and comment to this day, some sixty-one years after his death because his contributions to science are among the most significant in modern times.
Freud was born in Freiberg, Moravia in 1856 and lived a life spanning some 83 years, dying in 1939. During this time Freud was to face isolation, criticism, fame and persecution. Freud began his educational life at the ‘Gymnasium’ in Vienna where he quickly became academically recognized. Freud excelled and was the highest achiever among his peers. In 1873 the seventeen-year-old went to the University of Vienna after much contemplation as to what career path he should pursue. His father Jacob always encouraged Freud to follow whatever career interested him and Freud believed this was to be the study of law. However, after hearing a poem entitled “Ode to Nature” by Goethe Freud changed his mind and instead opted for a career in medicine. It would be eight years until Freud was to receive his medical degree. Freud maintained in his autobiography that he continued in science wholly due to his intense curiosity. He was by heart a researcher but at the advising of his good friend and mentor, Joseph Breuer, Freud began working at the largest hospital in Vienna, ‘General Hospital’, under the title of Aspirant to alleviate his extreme financial difficulties. Although he was interested in his work, the young scientist continued researching and chose the medulla oblongata as his subject of study.
In 1885 after receiving the position of Lecturer, Freud received a travel scholarship to travel to Paris, France to study under Jean-Martin Charcot. Here Freud learned about hypnosis and its use in battling hysteria. Freud was intrigued by Charcot’s discoveries and presented them at the ‘Gesellschaft der Aerzte’ (Society of Medicine) in Vienna. The opposition Freud faced drove him into quiet research.
In 1886 Freud married Martha Bernays to whom he had been engaged for four years. This marriage was perhaps the only stability in Freud’s life; providing support and love for the scientist and the six children they shared together. Academically, eventually Freud published The Interpretation of Dreams which would go down in history as his most important scientific and literary contribution. However, he also published books and articles dealing with the unconscious, child sexuality, meaning of slips of tongue, and uses of medicinal cocaine. Freud never stopped researching and writing despite a more than ten-year period of physical agony as he suffered from oral cancer. In 1938 Freud was forced to evacuate Vienna and flee Nazi persecution because of his Jewish heritage. He went to Paris and then settled down London, England. He died one year later.
Sigmund Freud has remained an important figure in science and psychology simply because his theories demand explanation and refutation. In attempting to refute Freud’s claims psychology has jumped leaps and bounds and continues to advance its theories of the very same subjects Freud dedicated his life to. Modern psychologists have refuted many of Freud’s theories but to this day many remain. Most psychologists will acknowledge the existence of the Id, the Ego, and the Superego. Three parts Freud believed interacted in all human minds. Also, there still exist proponents of psychoanalysis as Freud envisioned it that continue to attempt to justify his claims. Born in an important time with significant things to say, Sigmund Freud will remain a key figure in psychology and modern science as a whole
—Pete
Tallman
