In his seminal work “Memories, Dreams, and Reflections” Carl Gustaf Jung presents a stinging defense of Sigmund Freud. As the footnote by Aniela Jaffe explains,
“In his obituary on Freud (1939), Jung calls this work ‘epoch-making’ and ‘probably the boldest attempt that has ever been made to master the riddles of the unconscious psyche upon the apparently firm ground of empiricism. For us, then young psychiatrists, it was…a source of illumination, while for our older colleagues it was an object of mockery’” (p. 147, fn. 2).
These words of praise should not be taken lightly, for as any student of the history of Psychology knows, Freud and Jung did not always see eye to eye. And thus begins the review.
There can be no doubt that “The Interpretation …show more content…
Yet, daily, the grumblings in Psychological circles are deafening. “Freud was wrong!” “Sigmund who?” “Well, Freud ‘thought’ ‘x,’ and obviously, he was wrong!” On these all too common occasions, I often find myself asking the agitator, “What works of Freud have you read?” When I bring up the “Interpretation of Dreams,” I receive the iconoclastic eye-roll. Often, this is accompanied by the misunderstood quotation “The dream is the fulfillment of a wish”. The agitator then laughs as if they had a deep understanding of this idea.
Hence, let us all be clear on what it means in saying, “The dream is the fulfillment of a wish”. It means that someone has failed to read the explanation of that criticism offered by Freud in Chapter IV: Distortion in Dreams. Once an analysis of disagreeable dreams has been explained and all aspects have been taken into consideration, that lovely quote now materializes as “The dream is the (disguised) fulfilment [sic] of a (suppressed, repressed) wish” (p. 167). Additionally, as noted by …show more content…
In Chapter VI: The Dream-Work, Freud confesses that he has never experienced a recurrent dream, but goes on to provide evidence from a fellow colleague who consistently dreams of seeing a yellow lion (p. 197). It is here that Freud argues for an innocent explanation in recurring dreams. Through his understanding of the colleague’s past, and through conversation, it is discovered that the colleagues’ mother had explained to him that one of his favorite toys in early childhood was, in fact, a yellow lion. In many respects, this would indeed seem to prove a fascinating argument against Freud’s assertion that no dreams are innocent. (And here is an interesting counterpoint for those who make fantastical claims of reading Freud, and disagreeing with him!) Let us not be discouraged! A fascinating research study conducted by Cartwright, et al, in 1979 (The Nature and Function of Repetitive Dreams) seems to indicate the Freud was correct, and that nearly 2/3rds of adults self-reported having recurring dreams throughout their life. Additionally, in another study, conducted in 1991 (Imagination, Cognition, and Personality) shows an amazing 9 out of 10 people that have recurring dreams from their childhood report these dreams as unpleasant or of a threatening nature. So it seems that Freud was on to something after
“In his obituary on Freud (1939), Jung calls this work ‘epoch-making’ and ‘probably the boldest attempt that has ever been made to master the riddles of the unconscious psyche upon the apparently firm ground of empiricism. For us, then young psychiatrists, it was…a source of illumination, while for our older colleagues it was an object of mockery’” (p. 147, fn. 2).
These words of praise should not be taken lightly, for as any student of the history of Psychology knows, Freud and Jung did not always see eye to eye. And thus begins the review.
There can be no doubt that “The Interpretation …show more content…
Yet, daily, the grumblings in Psychological circles are deafening. “Freud was wrong!” “Sigmund who?” “Well, Freud ‘thought’ ‘x,’ and obviously, he was wrong!” On these all too common occasions, I often find myself asking the agitator, “What works of Freud have you read?” When I bring up the “Interpretation of Dreams,” I receive the iconoclastic eye-roll. Often, this is accompanied by the misunderstood quotation “The dream is the fulfillment of a wish”. The agitator then laughs as if they had a deep understanding of this idea.
Hence, let us all be clear on what it means in saying, “The dream is the fulfillment of a wish”. It means that someone has failed to read the explanation of that criticism offered by Freud in Chapter IV: Distortion in Dreams. Once an analysis of disagreeable dreams has been explained and all aspects have been taken into consideration, that lovely quote now materializes as “The dream is the (disguised) fulfilment [sic] of a (suppressed, repressed) wish” (p. 167). Additionally, as noted by …show more content…
In Chapter VI: The Dream-Work, Freud confesses that he has never experienced a recurrent dream, but goes on to provide evidence from a fellow colleague who consistently dreams of seeing a yellow lion (p. 197). It is here that Freud argues for an innocent explanation in recurring dreams. Through his understanding of the colleague’s past, and through conversation, it is discovered that the colleagues’ mother had explained to him that one of his favorite toys in early childhood was, in fact, a yellow lion. In many respects, this would indeed seem to prove a fascinating argument against Freud’s assertion that no dreams are innocent. (And here is an interesting counterpoint for those who make fantastical claims of reading Freud, and disagreeing with him!) Let us not be discouraged! A fascinating research study conducted by Cartwright, et al, in 1979 (The Nature and Function of Repetitive Dreams) seems to indicate the Freud was correct, and that nearly 2/3rds of adults self-reported having recurring dreams throughout their life. Additionally, in another study, conducted in 1991 (Imagination, Cognition, and Personality) shows an amazing 9 out of 10 people that have recurring dreams from their childhood report these dreams as unpleasant or of a threatening nature. So it seems that Freud was on to something after