Exploring Freud and Jung: Differing Views on Psychoneurosis Origins

This essay provides a comparative analysis of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung's perspectives on psychoneurosis and hysterical neurosis. It examines Freud's theories, including the Oedipus complex and the impact of sexual trauma in childhood, contrasting them with Jung's focus on mental trauma and the unconscious mind, particularly in the context of loss and transference. The essay highlights the differences in their approaches, with Freud emphasizing sexual influences and Jung focusing on emotional trauma, ultimately suggesting that Jung's perspective is more practical and relatable in understanding the origins of psychoneurotic behavior. The document is available on Desklib, a platform offering study tools and resources for students.

Running head: ENGLISH ASSIGNMENT
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Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Answer to Question 1
According to Davies, Freud, in his book “Oedipus Complex”, states that “the chief
part in the mental lives of all children who later become psychoneurotic is played by their
parents”. This was a very controversial topic, since Freud, in this concept, proposes that the
feelings of a child are more towards the parent of the opposite sex and hence a competition is
seen with the same sex parent. The same sex parent is seen as a rival whereas the child fights
for attention from the opposite sex parent. This has been confirmed with the legends of King
Oedipus, who kills his father to later marry his mother. On the other hand, Freud in “Further
Remarks on the Neuro-Psychoses of Defence” states that children become psychoneurotic
due to the sexual traumas that they might have faced in their early childhood which is during
their puberty (Oapw.files.wordpress.com). This sexual trauma has been received from people
of all kinds according to the author. Freud states that there are several cases of sexual abuse
that “had to be classed as grave sexual injuries; some of them were positively revolting”. The
statement means that there have been many cases where the perpetrators were teachers,
nurses, governesses, servants and even parents which are very revolting in nature. Thus, both
the articles of Freud focus on the sexual influence towards children being the reason for their
psychoneurotic.
Answer to Question 2
According to Carl Jung, hysterical neurosis is caused when a thought of the sub
conscious cannot find an outlet due to a mental trauma that might have been caused to the
person. This has been explained with the help of an example where a patient of Jung had mild
hysterical neurosis which has been expressed as “father complex” (Jung). This woman had a
strange relationship with her father and whose death led her to suffer a huge mental trauma.
To entangle herself from the emotional trauma she energetically pursued the knowledge of

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philosophy so that the emotional can be shed in an intellectual level. This cause differs to an
extent from the two text of Freud. Freud explains hysterical neurosis as a result of sexual
trauma and attraction from and towards the opposite gender respectively. However, Jung does
not focus on sexual influence but on the mental trauma that is faced by a person in case a
loved one, especially from the opposite gender is lost. In such cases the person tries to find
their lost loved one in another person often creating conflicts in relationships. This mental
trauma has been focused on the text by Carl Jung which says that in the example provided the
woman perceives the doctor as the father, thereby possessing two conflicting roles of a father
as well as a doctor.
Answer to Question 3
Freud and Jung both have different yet similar perspectives towards the concept of
hysterical neurosis and psychoneurotic. Freud focuses on the sexual attraction that might
exist among the children towards the opposite sex parent which has become quite
controversial topic. However, the concept explained by Carl Jung is seen to be more practical
where a person suffers mental trauma when go through the loss of a close individual in their
life (Jacobus). They often tend to confuse them with other people who are alive. This
assumption often creates several conflicting situation and can cause more issues for the
individual. This behaviour occurs naturally without any pressure from the part of the
individual and is an action of the unconscious mind as Jung says, “Nature herself paves the
way for this, unconsciously and indirectly, through the phenomenon of transference” (Jung).
In the example stated above, the doctor plays a dual role of the father and the doctor as
perceived by the woman during the treatment. Even though the concept might be an
assumption, it is more practical than the view of Freud hence more acceptable.

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References:
Davies, Jody Messler. "From Oedipus complex to Oedipal complexity: Reconfiguring
(pardon the expression) the negative Oedipus complex and the disowned erotics of
disowned sexualities." Psychoanalytic Dialogues 25.3 (2015): 265-283.
Jacobus, Lee A. A world of ideas: Essential readings for college writers. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus.
St. Martin's Press, 1986.
Jung, Carl Gustav. The archetypes and the collective unconscious. Routledge, 2014.
Oapw.files.wordpress.com. Oapw.Files.Wordpress.Com, 2018,
https://oapw.files.wordpress.com/2018/02/neuropsyremark.pdf. Accessed 11 Nov
2018.