Comparing Freud and Jung
Webmaster May 2nd, 2009
While some of his theories not correct, Freud paved the way for today’s counselors. His views still have much influence in contemporary practices throughout the world. Jung, Erikson, to name a couple, used Freud’s basic theories as model for their theories, and formed their more contemporary theories.
While Freud was correct to a point in his theory that the human race is deterministic and instinctual, Libido isn’t the source of motivation. As children of God, the goal of life is not strictly pleasure seeking and striving to avoid pain. Jesus reminded us that like Him, we would also be persecuted for our faith (John 15:20). Jesus, also, likened the Christian walk to a gate, strait and narrow and that few would find it (Matthew 7:14). Therefore, Freud was incorrect in this part of his theory.
If Freud is correct in his postulate of death instincts, we as a human race would have become extinct instead of the dinosaurs. Murder is cited as evil a number of times in the Bible, including the Ten Commandments. While there are some in this world who commit murder, the majority of humans are sickened at the thought of murdering another person.
Freud’s id, superego, and ego do accurately describe our basic body, mind and soul. Corey describes the id as being the “spoiled brat of personality” and as an infant (Corey, pg. 61, 62). The id can also be compared with our base physical instincts. When we allow our physical body to control our actions, we are reduced to basic animal behavior. Left to its own desires, our physical body would resort to seeking pleasure and avoiding pain at any and all costs, no matter who was hurt in the process. The ego is our mind. It gives us the ability to think logically, make decisions, and formulate plans of action for our daily life and needs (Corey, pg 62). The superego goes hand in hand with our soul. Instead of associating the superego with a judicial branch, it should be likened to our soul communing with God. The Holy Spirit is given to us to guide our souls and act as conscience. Freud simply gave his own tags to the human mind, body and spirit.
I believe as a counselor, I will integrate parts of Freud’s theories into my practice but for the most part, I feel that people are not as base as Freud believed. His theory is like any other tool of the trade; it should be respected and used in an appropriate circumstance.
Jung’s theory, in relation to the spiritual realm, comes a little closer to my own beliefs. I don’t believe that all dreams are messages from the subconscious, sometimes it is the Italian sausage they ate for dinner. However, people are also developing, growing and moving to the next level of development (Corey, pg. 79). Our past does shape us to an extent but with God’s help and forgiveness, past events can become a shadowy memory. People are capable of overcoming their past. Jung’s work with dreams would probably be looked at skeptically today, but our subconscious has to come out in some form. Dreams are discussed in the Bible and Joseph interpreted even the king’s dreams accurately.
Jung’s anima, animus, shadow, and persona do ring of Freud’s id, ego and superego; however, they also sing of the mind, body and spirit. Anima and Animus simply reflect the maleness and femaleness in each of us. Each of us has masculine and feminine parts in us. Without some of both, we would never connect with the other gender at all. A father would never cradle his baby in his arms without some femininity; a mother would never play catch with her son without a little masculinity in her core.
The shadow as the dark side is simply the human depravity in each of us. We all have a “dark” side. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t sin. All have come short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
All humans have a persona. This mask or public face is the wall we put around ourselves when we have to encounter new people or situations. Personally, I know that when I’m in a public situation, a stranger would never know that I’m a basically shy person. I put on my persona, which is a strong, self-confident “never let ‘em see you cry” face. I can carry that persona off for hours if I have to, only to collapse in a heap when I get back to the privacy and security of my home.
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