His Theories
On Behaviour: Freud divided human behaviour into three kinds: (1) pre-conscious前意識, (2) conscious有意識 and (3) unconscious潛意識. He observed觀察得知 that many patients behaved行為表現 according to drives衝動 and experiences of which they were not consciously有意識地 aware知道. He thus concluded that the unconscious plays扮演 a major role角色 in shaping塑造 behaviour. He also concluded that the unconscious is full of memories記憶 of events from early childhood童年 ---- sometimes as far back as infancy嬰兒期. Freud noted發現 that if these memories were especially painful痛苦, people kept them out of conscious awareness刻意將之忘記. He used the term defence mechanisms防衛機制 for the methods by which individuals did this. Freud believed that patients used vast amounts大量 of energy精力 in forming製造 defence mechanisms. Tying up困鎖 energy in defence mechanisms could affect a person’s ability to lead過著 a productive life有創造力的生命, causing an illness that Freud called neurosis神經機能病.
Freud also concluded that many childhood memories dealt with涉及 sex. He theorized提出理論 that sexual functioning運作 begins at birth, and that a person passes through通過 several psychological stages階段 of sexual development. During this passage發展 from infant嬰兒 sexuality性徵 to adult sexuality, an individual makes many self-discoveries自我發現 and learns to control his or her sexual impulses性衝動. Freud believed that the normal pattern正常模式 of sexual development is interrupted受扞擾 in some individuals. These people become fixated定型 at an earlier, immature未成熟的 age. He felt that such fixation定型 could contribute導致 to mental illness in adulthood成年.
On Sex: Freud said that sexual appetite性慾 is the foundation基礎 of human behaviour. He put forth推出 the ideas of Pan-Sexism泛性主義. He argued that the sexual instinct性本能 determines決定 the growth of human beings人類 and shapes their characters性格.
Oral phase口唇期 (0-2 of age): Babes get sexual satisfaction滿足 with mouths. They feel happy whenever they put things into the mouth. A stronger sense of happiness快感 is created when babies bite咬破 and tear撕裂 things with the mouth.
Anal phase肛門期 (2-5 of age): Children excrete排洩 their “rubbish” with the anus肛門. The release釋放 of the excretion排洩物 sets children free from the source根源 of strain緊張; they become happy again. However, during this phase children undergo經歷 toilet training上廁所的訓練. Authority權威 and discipline紀律 prevent children from relieving解除 their source of strain freely.
Phallic phase生殖器期 (5-12 of age): Children pay full attention to their genital organs外陰部. During this phase, boys hope to possess擁有 their mothers wholly and feel hostile to their fathers. This is called the Oedipus Complex戀母情意. Owing to the fear懼怕 of the father, disappointment with the mother and the gradual maturing成熟 of the body, however, boys will give up the mother later on. They will either imitate模仿 the mother’s role, or seek identification求同 with other males. Most boys like playing with other boys, that is “homosexuality同性愛”. The final shaping塑造 of the boy’s character depends upon視乎 the balance between male and female elements元素 in his body. Successful identification認同 with other males produces the superego超我. The situation of girls is just the vice versa相反. They have the Electra Complex戀父情意. Girls want to monopolize獨佔 the father and hate the mother. Furthermore而且, Freud said that girls are passive被動 and shy害羞 because they have a sense of inferiority自卑感. Girls have a penis envy陽具忌妒; they want to be male and are thus confused混淆 by their sex role. Until the puberty青春期 the child’s libidinal energy性衝動能量 and aggressive impulse侵略的衝動 are temporarily暫時 repressed被壓抑. So the period of 5-12 years of age is called the “latency period潛伏期”.
After the age of 12 the boy’s sexual instinct性本能 revives恢復 considerably大幅地 because of the changes of the reproductive system生殖系統. “Heterosexual love異性愛” develops. The libidinal energy becomes active again, which produces pressure壓力and strain緊張. Teenagers must adapt調整 themselves to the changes.
Freud combined the oral, anal and phallic phases to form the “pre-productive phase前生殖期”; the greatest sexual characteristic性特徵 is that human beings love themselves自戀, that is “autoerotism愛自己的身體”. Children must pass through all of the phase successfully before they become a healthy adult. When the “productive phase生殖期” arrives, people no longer love themselves but seek and select spouses配偶. This is also the phase of socialization社會化. Group activities, marriages婚姻, family establishment and child breeding養育子女 follow. The interest and ambitions上進心 in careers事業 as well as以及 the sense of responsibility責任感 are strengthened加強. The productive phase is the longest, lasting維持 from the age of 17-18 to the death.
Freud argued that the Eros求生本能 (life instinct, especially the procreative instinct生殖本能) governs管轄 acts行為 of self-preservation自我求存and the tendency傾向 towards uninhibited無拘無束的 enjoyment享受 of life. Owing to the constraints限制 of the social morality道德, however, the desires of the sexual instinct cannot be always satisfied. People thus divert轉移 the libidinal性衝動的 energy to other creative創造性的 activities like those of science and art. This is the process of “conversion轉向” to “sublimation昇華”. If sublimation fails, the desires of human instincts will be driven back被趕回 to the unconscious潛意識. They then become the themes主題 of dreams and even the origins of abnormal不正常的 behaviour. On the contrary, people will develop the Thanatos求死本能 (death instinct) if there is no outlet出路 for the libidinal energy. The Thanatos produces aggression. It explains partly why wars and aggression occur發生. Everyone has both the Eros and Thanatos.
On the Mind: Freud divided the mind思維 into three parts, i.e. (1) the id本我, (2) the ego自我, and (3) the superego超我. He recognized承認 that everyone is born with與生俱來 various各種 instincts本能, such as the drive動機 to satisfy hunger飢餓 and the drive to satisfy sexual needs. The id is the mental心理的 representation代表 of these biological生物的 instincts. It does not distinguish區別 between the internal mind and the outside environment. For example, the id stimulates刺激 the eating drives, but it makes no distinction辨別 between a mental image形象 of food and the food itself. The id cannot express表達 itself substantially具體地; people cannot be aware知悉 of its existence存在 consciously有意識地. The id is the primitive原始 impetus動力 of life. Only through dreams, imaginations幻想 or the physical symptoms癥狀 of mentally ill patients can the id be expressed and predicted預測.
The ego distinguishes between the internal mind and external reality現實. It controls behaviour that bridges連接 the gap差距 between mental images and the outside world. For example, the ego directs指揮 a hungry person to look for and to eat real food. The ego is realistic現實主義. Whenever the id wants to have its desires satisfied, the ego considers the limits局限 of the reality. In other words, the ego satisfies, represses抑壓, controls or adjusts調節 the wants慾望 of the id.
The superego governs moral behaviour. It is the mental representation of the moral code規條 of society mostly taught by the parents and teachers. The superego seeks to limit behaviour out of出於the drives of the id.
In mentally healthy individuals, the three parts of the mind work in harmony和諧. But in others, the parts may conflict. For example, the superego might oppose all sexual behaviour, thus preventing fulfillment實現 of the id’s sexual drives. If the parts of the mind oppose one another, psychological disturbance擾亂results出現.
Since human instincts are aggressive富侵略性 whereas但是 the civilization文明 requires people to live in harmony, Freud said that it is difficult to reconcile協調 the wants of human instincts with the norms準則 of the civilization. Unlimited wants of human instincts will endanger危及 the civilization and human beings as a whole整體人類. On the other hand, over-repression過份壓抑on human instincts may lead to abnormal psychology. It produces patients of psychosis精神病.
On Treatment治療: At first, Freud treated neurotic patients神經機能病的患者 by using the hypnotic催眠 techniques that he had learnt from Charcot. But he modified this approach several years later, and simply had patients talk about whatever was on their minds. He called this technique “free association自由聯想法”. With free association ---- that is, by speaking freely ---- the patients sometimes came upon突然展現 earlier experiences that contributed導致 to the neurosis神經機能病.
Often, however, the painful memories that caused the neurosis were held滯留 in the unconscious潛意識 through defence mechanisms防衛機制. Freud then analyzed分析 the random隨意的 thoughts念頭 that had been expressed during free association. He did this in an effort嘗試 to penetrate滲入 the patient’s defence mechanisms. He also interpreted解說 the patient’s dreams, which he believed were symbolic具象徵意義的 clues線索 to unconscious memories. After he felt he understood the root of the problem, Freud talked with the patient about the person’s earlier experiences. He paid particular attention to the painful feelings ----- hostility or love, for example ---- that the patient directed at Freud himself. Through this transference轉移 of past feelings to the present, the patient could be relieved解除 of the painful memories. The symptoms症狀 of the neurosis might then disappear.
His Influence
Freud ranks名列 as one of the most influential具影響力的 thinkers思想家 in history. His research研究 and writings著作 changed the way方法 many people thought about human nature人性. The strongest impact影響 of Freud’s theories occurred發生 in psychiatry精神病的治療 and psychology. Some psychiatrists精神病學家 and psychologists disagree不贊同 with certain of his ideas. For example, Austrian psychologist Alfred Adler阿德勒 (1870-1937), one of Freud’s early followers, disagreed to the over-emphasis過份強調 on sex. He thought that the conscious fear, ambitions, hopes and struggles奮鬥 are more important than the unconscious drives and past experiences in shaping human behaviour. Karl Jung容格 (1875-1962), another Freud’s early follower, pointed out the importance of genetic factors遺傳因素 in determining決定 human minds. He even said that there are two kinds of the unconscious. One is individual, referring to things repressed in daily life. The other refers to the characteristics特徵 inherited承襲 from the particular特定的 civilization. However, Freud’s work on the origin and treatment of mental illness helped form the basis基礎 of modern psychiatry. In psychology, Freud especially influenced the field領域 of abnormal psychology and the study of personality性格.
Freud’s theories on sexual development led to open discussion and treatment of sexual matters and problems. His stress強調 on the importance of childhood helped teach the value價值 of giving children an emotionally nourishing environment溫情的環境. His insights見識 also influenced the fields of anthropology人類學 and sociology. Most social scientists社會科學家 accept his concept概念 that an adult’s social relationships社交關係 are patterned after依據 early family relationships家庭倫常關係.
Attitudes towards anti-social behaviour反社會行為 have also been influenced by Freud. Many parents and teachers believe that behaviour problems can be caused by a child’s emotional情緒上的 conflicts. Similarly, many criminologists犯罪學家 are convinced相信 that large numbers of people commit crimes犯罪 because of unconscious drives. Many such people can be helped more effectively by psychiatric care精神病治療 than by a prison sentence判刑.
In art and literature文學, Freud’s theories encouraged understanding of surrealism超現實主義. Like psychoanalysis心理分析, surrealistic painting超現實主義的繪畫 and writing explore探索 the inner depths內心深處 of the unconscious mind. Freudian concepts have provided subject matters主題 for many authors作家 and artists, and critics批評家 frequently經常地 analyze art and literature in Freudian terms. In the U.S., psychoanalysis has had a profound深遠的 influence on literature and drama戲劇, mostly recently, in the works of such writers as Eugene O’ Neill and Tennessee Williams.
Unfortunately不幸地, owing to popular misinterpretation廣泛的誤解 of Freud’s writings, many people have used his theories as a scientific justification支持 for increased egocentricity利己主義 in handling處理 affairs of daily life.
Sex was a taboo禁忌 in the past. Freud regarded認為 sexual instincts as the core核心 of human behaviour and made sex a popular theme話題 for open discussion. Hence因此, this led partly to the sex liberation movement性解放運動 of the West. Some people even use the Freudian theories to justify支持 their unlimited無節制的 sexual behaviour.
Psychoanalysis has unintentionally意外地 fostered促成 the idea that repression must be avoided lest為了不讓 it leads to “blowing one’s top情緒失控”. It has encouraged the belief信念 that education must never be restrictive局限性 and coercive強制性.
Past A-Level Exam Questions since 1980
- “Our intellect is a feeble and dependent thing, a plaything and a tool of our impulses and emotions.” (Sigmund Freud) Comment upon the impact of this new understanding of human behaviour upon society in the twentieth century. (1982)
「我們的理解力是一個虛弱和不獨立的東西，是我們的衝動和情緒所擺佈的玩物和工具而已。」(佛洛依德) 試評論此項對人類行為的新理解對二十世紀社會的影響。(1982)
- Examine the influence of Sigmund Freud’s theory on European culture and society. (1996)
探討佛洛依德的理論對歐洲文化及社會的影響。(1996)
- What do you think was the most significant medical discovery in the period 1800-1980? Explain your answer with reference to this discovery on European society. (1998)
你認為1800-1980年間，哪一項醫學發現最為重要？試就此項發現對歐洲社會的影響加以解釋。(1998)
Past Higher Level Exam Questions in 1981-1991
- Examine the content and impact of the theories of Sigmund Freud. (1981)
試闡述佛洛依德學說之內容及其影響。(1981)
- Compare Darwin’s theory of evolution and Freud’s theories with regard to their influence upon politics and culture in modern Europe. (1987)
試比較達爾文進化論與佛洛依德學說對近代歐洲政治及文化的影響。(1987)
