Freud and Jung

Both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung shared a common belief that the unconscious could be used to explain dreams. However they also differed in many other ways. For instance while Freud’s theories focused on sexual desire and repression, Jung believed there was more to the subconscious including creativity, archetypal material and a striving towards individuation. Freud developed psychoanalysis through which he interpreted dreams to identify and help resolve underlying conflicts. His theory proposed 3 components to an individual’s mind; the Id, the Ego and the Super ego. Jung on his part proposed his theory where he divides the individual into three parts as well. These are the self, the persona and the anima. Jung had a more spiritual approach compared to Freud. A major difference between the two was in their beliefs concerning religion. Whereas Freud was totally against the idea of religion, even proposing that it should be totally banned, Jung believed it was important to the individual as it acted as a safe haven for a person as they underwent the process of individuation (Glover, 1950). Jung argued that religion was an important mode of communication since all religions shared similar symbols and archetypes. This universally recognizably of religious symbols reinforced the idea to Jung that humans experienced the unconscious through many symbols like dreams, religion and art.   

Jung’s theory of Psychic energy contains some overt similarities to Freud’s concepts. Both of the men had a belief in the human subconscious and its great impact on an individual’s psychological wellbeing. The similarities begin with the categorization of an individual’s mind into 3 parts. Both Jung and Freud believed that achieving a balance between their respective 3 categories was vital for an individual’s mental wellbeing. 

The differences begin with what each man thought constituted the subconscious. According to Freud’s thinking, the subconscious consisted of experiences, images and thoughts that the individual had failed to process (Arden, 1993). He believed that this unprocessed elements eventually led to formation of neurosis. Jung on his part added that each person’s subconscious also contained the collective unconscious. This was made up of archetypes and shared images that were common to all human beings. Freud believed that sexual desire was a primary driver of human activities. He posited that unresolved or repressed sexual desires led to neurosis. However while Jung did not refute this, he was of the view that sexual desire was only one amongst many drivers of human activity and behavior. For Jung, individuation was the overall goal that all individuals strive to achieve.

According to Jung, the different aspects of personality include the persona which is like a mask that we show the world, the shadow which is a part that remains hidden and we do not show the public and finally the animus which is the male part of the female psyche. They are integrated with each other through a delicate balance that develops from childhood as one learns to suppress the shadows impulses and to act in a certain way. The animus is as expected a conflicting part with the female psyche as it is inherently male in a female individual. At the same time, the shadow is suppressed or unconsciously hidden. Consequently it is possible to harbor the darker side of personality which is in conflict with the persona.

References

Glover, E. (1950). Freud or Jung (Vol. 34). Northwestern University Press

Arden, M. (1993). Freud and Jung. Free Associations, 3(4), 642-654