Concept Of Don T Lie To Yourself By Foucault

Improved Essays
Freud’s popularity can be determined by the fact that the terms he introduced in his research have made their way to 21st century’s vocabulary, some of the well known being; Libido, cathartic, denial and repression. Freud was the founding father of the theory of Psychoanalysis which discusses and studies the human behavior. Freud believed that being humans we hide our real emotions and motives from other sometimes even not with the intention of hiding because humans have the tendency to deceive others as well as themselves. That’s probably where the concept of “don’t lie to yourself” came from. It is easy to believe that we are good at hiding our emotions in front of others if we wish to hold back something to as to not let the other person …show more content…
He says power, knowledge and sexuality have not been taken in to account while developing this theory. Foucault claims that it is the capitalist society and capitalism itself that has bereft the working class from attaining fulfillment of desires or having any sexual pleasures because of the politics in society. The working class is not given the choice of indulging in what they may like because these pleasures are only for the upper classes who are the leaders and the rich rulers. Foucault has linked sexuality with power. He refuses Sigmund Freud’s theory of repression by saying that it is rather suppression that we go through when we suppress our freedom of sexual expression and this is what he called the repression …show more content…
The ruling class used to believe that by controlling sexuality they were protecting their future generations, their own health of soul and body and felt it was important to exercise this control. They believed that with healthy sexuality they could preserve their power and elevate their influence.
Hence Freud’s theory is in a completely different light from that of Foucault. Foucault’s theory claims repression hypothesis to have been used for self affirmation while Freud argued that humans are unable to clearly express disturbing thoughts for the fear of being judged and punished and hence they keep such desires at bay in order to keep themselves from being ashamed and

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Everybody has a unique personality that influences who we are, how we act, and the nature of our relationships. Our personality is inescapable and essentially shapes us as individuals. Despite its centrality to human existence, defining what impacts attribute to specific personalities, and consequent behaviour patterns, is something that is still heavily debated today, and as such, many alternating theories have evolved in an attempt to explain these concepts. (Shultz & Shultz, 2009). Sigmund Freud was the first psychologist to formally theorise what factors contribute to the construction of an individual’s personality, and suggested that the unconscious mind emulated great power over our behaviour and personality.…

    • 774 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Freud believed that all individuals are born with a sexual urge that morphs as they advance through life. He believed that self-expression, including through sex, led to happiness in individuals. While Freud did not intend for his theories to invoke rebellion, many used them to justify their actions. Not only did women partake in pre-martial sexual encounters, they also grew away from the standards of traditional family life. One of the biggest parts of this was a rise in the number of divorces.…

    • 1503 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Government control can be a major problem when it comes to the citizens freedom. the novel brave new world by Aldous Huxley and 1984 by George Orwell, both show the amount of control and the lengths political leaders are willing to go through to stay in power. The government can be very manipulating of their citizens restating many of their thoughts and freedom. To maintain further power these leaders restrain sexuality. Governments oppress their citizens to stay in power.…

    • 1771 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Brave New World Essay

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages

    INST 161-Heritage of Western Thought and Civilization ShoShana Skates Professor: James Robertson Tuesday, September 20, 2016 Essay#2: Brave New World. Throughout the novel, “The Brave New World”, author Aldous Huxley featured an unconventional world facilitated by dehumanizing the moral and spiritual compass of mankind. Several concepts during his story established the foundation that governed the jurisdiction of this world without a God and unattended consequences. The traditional lifestyle of mankind was now obsolete and replaced with technology, sustaining it as mankind’s true creator of life and destiny.…

    • 886 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Women's Hook-Up Culture

    • 1701 Words
    • 7 Pages

    While women have fought tirelessly to be treated as equal to men, the oppression of women persists because women’s sexuality continues to be emphasized by society more than other attributes and characteristics. Patriarchy not only has men at the forefront of political and religious decisions, but also it allows men to control social and cultural institutions. This results in misplaced authority over women, their bodies, and how they are perceived by society. Men and boys believe they should be able to express their sexuality without consequence while women and girls are to have their sexual activity regulated. Female sexuality is repressed by the double standards of the popularly practiced hook-up culture while, simultaneously, it is exploited…

    • 1701 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Michael Foucault proposed a new theory of power that claimed, “power is everywhere.” In effect, power normalizes people’s actions within society. In the History of Sexuality,…

    • 339 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Gayle Rubin's Analysis

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Gayle Rubin connects the usage of sex with political agents such as racism, war, caste systems, and immigration that encourages repression, oppression, and produces assumed dominance in modern Western society. Rubin analyses today’s cultural stance on sexuality by exposing the hypocrisy that holds anyone of different sexual orientations or leanings as inferior. Rubin feels that it is time to address sexuality in a time where it is embellished and there is much debate over sexual evaluation as it relates to acts and religion. Her work can be best divided into the specific claims she argues for or against as they relate to feminism and western culture’s take on sexuality in the modern era. It is obvious that the title of the article should…

    • 1198 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    (c) Explain Foucault 's view on "the repressive hypothesis". Discuss whether he believes there is, or has been, repression, what he wants to investigate, and the formation of sexual subjects. Provide examples. Over the years, the society has come across various views of sexuality.…

    • 2026 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    He argues that the main factor in the development of history is human need for unity and well-organized community. He points out that from basic needs of human, which include food, water, shelter and clothes comes a greatest of all: the need for close interaction between people. Since the beginnings of every civilization people realized that living together in a close relations is very beneficial. Even though Freud argues men are very aggressive, they tend to overcome this inclination and try working together to attain happiness. The need for individual interest is lost as members of the community discover that one will not be able to survive alone without the help of others.…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The most relevant early contributions to the psychological aspect of the field were made by Sigmund Freud. Freud may truly be considered the father of the field of psychology around the world with his creation of the Psychoanalytical approach. Freud stated that the human mind is in a constant battle between the childish, selfish side of our mind and the benevolent moral self. When we as an individual have difficulty reconciling between the two, Humans will typically employ one or more of the defensive mechanisms of denial, repression, displacement and transference.(Freud) The introduction of psychoanalysis in personality studies of political figures starting in the 30s, 40s, and 50 was the birth of Political Psychology.…

    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Theories Of Morality

    • 1514 Words
    • 6 Pages

    However, the alternative is that we are able to fulfill all of our desires, but there will always be someone stronger to overpower. Through the formation of communities, society prevents the strong individuals from taking control of the weak. Thus, by agreeing with Freud, we could rid ourselves of morality, give in to our natural instincts, and face the possibility of dying or being conquered by those more powerful. On the other hand, in disagreement with Freud, we could choose to live morally. Yes, we may face moral burdens once in a while, but at least we will have protection, order, and…

    • 1514 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    During the Victorian period amongst many issues human sexuality, gender, and religion was heavily debated. Human sexuality is an element that has been evolving since the beginning of the nineteenth century. Sexual preference is one of the most criticized matters in society; moreover, to speak of sex is often taboo. These opinions are comparatively due to old teachings of religion. Although human sexual preference has become more accepted and published; however, during the Victorian period, homosexuality of any kind is a sinful and undiscussed act.…

    • 707 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Compare and contrast Psychoanalytic Theory to that of Social Cognitive Perspective and the Humanistic Perspective. Also, tell me who are the primary psychologists who came up with each theory/perspective? Sigmund Freud was an influential psychiatrist and clinical psychologist. Freud began his work when he found that the disorders of the patients he was seeing made no neurological sense. What could be causing feelings that had no physical cause?…

    • 1455 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Freud’s perspective of humanity is very bleak, and fails to acknowledge that sometimes people do not act with the intention or wanting something out of an interaction with another being. People can be altruistic and want what is best for others even if it means sacrificing their own happiness for that to happen. Parents, for example, want what is best for their children. For them, it is not about what they will get out of their child’s success, it is simply wanting for them to have every happiness…

    • 1792 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    MERVE GÖVEÇ 01021106 ESSAY PSYCHOLOANALYTIC CRITICISM AND HAMLET Sigmund Freud was father of psychoanalytics. Psychoanalytic criticism is so important our life. Actually, we are un aware of psychoanalytic concepts, but it is a part of our everyday lives. The goal of Freudian theory was to reveal consciousness, repressed thoughts and feelings.…

    • 1695 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays