Darian Parsadoust AP Lang PD 1 Sigmund Freud and the Dynamic Unconscious Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856

and lived until September 23, 1939. He grew in the town of Freiberg, Morovia until his father's business failed and they moved to Vienna, Germany. Freiberg is now a part of the Czech Republic. Freud attended medical school to become a neurologist where he always received top marks. In the years leading up to World War II Freud moved to London, so as not to be prosecuted for his Jewish background. During his lifetime Freud studied psychology and the human mind due to his interest in finding a cure to hysteria. His studies led him to create the theory of the Unconscious Mind. A major part of this theory is the concept of the dynamic unconscious. Freud lived in an exciting and constantly changing world. During the 1850's, there is a gold rush in Australia, the "Taiping Rebellion in China, the Crimean war [erupts, and] The Origin of Species was published" (Rosenberg, 1). Throughout the 1860's there were many wars including the disastrous American Civil War. In the 1870's and 1880's Europe was colonizing Africa, splitting the land between the nations, and fighting over the resources. Between 1914 and 1918 the First World War was fought, and in the 1920's the "Bubonic plague [erupted in] India, [and] the League of Nations" was created (Rosenberg, 3). Freud's world was constantly changing so his new ideas fit into the era of dramatic change well. Freud believed that people had a conscious and unconscious mind that influenced their actions and thoughts. The conscious mind contains any information a person learns

and perceives in that moment. This level of the mind retains information being retrieved by the senses. The conscious mind perceives the senses' messages and transfers the information along. There is a preconscious mind, which contains "retrievable information" such as mathematical formulas one may have learned years ago (Flore 1/1). This information can be brought to attention through focusing on what one wishes to recall. The unconscious mind, according to Freud's theory, has three parts to itself: the descriptive, dynamic, and system unconscious. The descriptive unconscious withholds processes of the mind that the person is unaware of, while the system unconscious organizes repressed information within the mind. The dynamic unconscious' role is in coping with traumatic experiences. The dynamic unconscious is a mental defense process that relieves a person of information too draining to have to constantly bear in their preconscious. One way this level of the unconscious protects a person is through repression. When a person undergoes a traumatic experience such as war, rape, being kidnapped, or domestic abuse the dynamic unconscious "could repress the information, blocking" the experience from the preconscious mind (Cherry, 3/9). When repression occurs the victim will still feel the emotions of the experience, which can lead to implications further along in life. Freud also classified denial as a form of repression. Displacement is a very common method the dynamic unconscious uses to deal with anger, pain, and frustration. Displacement is when one person "takes their anger or frustration out on an object who had nothing to do" with the situation (Cherry, 4/9). People who have not undergone terrible situations may still commit displacement because it is a simple way for the dynamic unconscious to get the stressful feelings out of

the person. Also, the reason for taking anger out on another is because a person who yells at their boss gets fired; so people displace their anger because their dynamic unconscious and preconscious knows there will not be any serious negative consequences in harassing someone else. Rationalization is also a common form of the dynamic unconscious at work. This "defense mechanism involves explaining an unacceptable behavior or feeling in a rational or logical manner" in order to trick one's self out of the guilt (Cherry, 6). This method can "help prevent anxiety and maintain self esteem" (Cherry, 6). Rationalization can easily be a person's 'free-pass' out of trouble, because eventually they believe their own lies. Freud was not solely responsible for creating psychoanalytical psychology; he had worked with many intelligent people and based his theory on the dynamic conscious off of their work also. Josef Breuer was a psychoanalyst who lived from "1842 to 1925" (Alic, 1). He found observations on unconscious processes that Freud would later base his studies on. Josef Breuer is well known for the Herig-Breuer Reflex, "which changed the way scientists viewed the relationship of the lungs to the nervous system" (Alic, 1). Breuer is also known for having had an experiment with an Anna O. whom he would have "talk about [the hallucinations she was having which] rid her of her symptoms" (Alic, 1). Her visions were due to repressions made by the dynamic unconscious. Anna O. was cured of her hallucinations by talking about the topics repressed by her dynamic unconscious, which freed her mind. Freud and Breuer wrote a book, Studies of Hysteria, in which they talk about cases similar to those of the before mentioned woman. "Studies

of Hysteria was first published in 1895" and is still a popular book today (Breuer, Luckhurst, Sigmund, 37). Breuer was a major influence on Freud in the beginning of his studies. Carl Jung worked and studied with Freud "around the age of 30" (Morgan, Notes). Jung lived from "1875 to 1961" (Morgan, Notes). After years of helping promote psychoanalysis, Jung and Freud started to dislike each other over debates on religion. None-the-less Jung had already helped spread psychoanalysis to the US and through Europe. Jung started promoting his own theories on psychology, which became internationally renowned. His own theories are a off shoot of Freud's work and included theories on the unconscious mind but included a broader field of study including archetypes. Freud's theory on the "Unconscious Mind [and the Dynamic Unconscious] thrived because when these theories were created psychology" was a new field and little was known about the human mind (Straker, 1). Once Freud came and was able to explain how the mind works with the three different levels of the conscious. his work became popular. When people started hearing about the dynamic unconscious and how it repressed information, it intrigued many who then wanted to study psychoanalysis and spread the theory as a method for curing people. Psychologists could now focus on what the problem may be with a patient and have them talk about, which as in the famous "Anna O. experiment it [could] clear symptoms" (Alic, 1). This would lead to an increased number of people going to psychologists also. Also, with all of Freud's publications and speeches, along with Jung forwarding his theories in the US psychoanalysis easily filled a niche in the field of psychology.

Many people today that are not psychologists believe that they have an unconscious mind, and due to modern day practices of psychoanalysis and other theories belief in the unconscious mind is still popular in the world today. Freud's theory including the dynamic unconscious within it have survived and evolved into newer forms of psychology. Freud has left a lasting effect on the world of psychology. His theory on the dynamic unconscious has been successful in spreading through the field of psychology even though there are still many critics. Even more than seventy years after his death Freud still has a commanding number of critics. Freud has been criticized on his tests, his choice of test subjects, his data, and his "use of cocaine" (Chiriac, 1). Sigmund Freud was a cocaine addict whom wrote papers on its greatness. Only during his time "cocaine was not illegal" (Chiriac, 1). This of course did not help him in gaining supporters because people believed him to be incapable of conducting science while on cocaine. Freud also had a tendency to dislike anyone who did not agree with him, which made him a lot of enemies. Freud's theory of the dynamic unconscious is very popular within the world of psychology. The dynamic unconscious' functions are to help the person forget or deny traumatic experiences; unfortunately this can backfire as was seen in the "Anna O. case" (Alic, 1). Freud managed to have and raise six kids through his career; one of them, Anna Freud, also joined the field of psychology. After some time Freud changed his unconscious mind theory and added in the id, ego, and superego. This greatly changed his theory but still kept the basis of it the same. Freud was a heavy cigar user and developed "cancer of the jaw and mouth [and after years of suffering] he asked his doctor for a mercy killing" (Boeree, 1). His doctor agreed and overdosed him on morphine. In

the future psychoanalysis and its shoot off theories will only evolve and help more mentally ill patients return to normal lives. The dynamic unconscious will still be referenced when a psychoanalyst is conducting treatments or talking with colleagues, even if the id, ego, and superego replaced the first of Freud's Unconscious Mind Theories. The only difference that will happen to the dynamic unconscious is that other theories will arise in the future and it will be used to support those theories at the foreground of scientific progression.

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Straker, David. Freuds Personality Factors. Changing Minds. Syque, n.d. Web. 16 Dec. 2010. <http://changingminds.org/explanations/personality/freud_personality. htm>.