Name: Sigmund Freud

Age: 83 years old

Place of Birth: Freiberg

A place of death: London

Activity: psychoanalyst, psychiatrist, neurologist

Family status: was married to Martha Freud

Sigmund Freud - biography

Trying to find ways to treat mental illness, he literally broke into the forbidden territory of the human subconscious and achieved some success - and at the same time became famous. And it is still unknown what he wanted more: knowledge or fame...

Childhood, Freud's family

The son of a poor wool merchant Jacob Freud, Sigismund Shlomo Freud was born in May 1856 in the Austrian Empire, in the town of Freiberg. Soon the family hastily left for Vienna: according to rumors, the boy’s mother Amalia (Jacob’s second wife and the same age as his married sons) had an affair with the youngest of them, causing a loud scandal in society.

At a tender age, Freud experienced the first loss in his biography: his brother Julius died in the eighth month of his life. Shlomo did not like him (he demanded too much attention), but after the baby’s death he began to experience a feeling of guilt and remorse. Subsequently, Freud, based on this story, will derive two postulates: firstly, every child looks at his brothers and sisters as rivals, which means he experiences “evil desires” towards them; secondly, it is the feeling of guilt that becomes the cause of many mental illnesses and neuroses - and it does not matter what a person’s childhood was like, tragic or happy.

By the way, Shlomo had no reason to be jealous of his brother: his mother loved him madly. And she believed in his glorious future: a certain old peasant woman predicted to the woman that her first-born would become a great man. And Shlomo himself did not doubt his own exclusivity. He had extraordinary abilities, was well-read, and went to the gymnasium a year earlier than other children. However, teachers and classmates did not favor him for his insolence and arrogance. The ridicule and humiliation that rained down on the head of young Sigmund - psychological trauma - led to the fact that he grew up as a closed person.

After graduating from high school with honors, Freud thought about choosing a future path. Being a Jew, he could only engage in trade, crafts, law or medicine. The first two options were rejected outright; the legal profession was questionable. As a result, in 1873, Sigmund entered the medical faculty of the University of Vienna

Sigmund Freud - biography of personal life

The profession of a doctor did not seem interesting to Freud, but, on the one hand, it opened the way to research activities, which he liked, and on the other, it gave him the right to private practice in the future. And this guaranteed the material well-being that Sigmund desired with all his soul: he was going to get married.

He met Martha Bernays at home: she came to visit his younger sister. Every day Sigmund sent his beloved a red rose, and in the evenings he went for a walk with the girl. Two months after the first meeting, Freud confessed his love to her - secretly. And he received secret consent to the marriage. He did not dare to officially ask for Martha’s hand in marriage: her parents, wealthy Orthodox Jews, did not even want to hear about their semi-impoverished atheist son-in-law.

But Sigmund was serious and did not hide his passion for “the little gentle angel with emerald eyes and sweet lips.” At Christmas they announced their engagement, after which the bride's mother (the father had died by that time) took her daughter to Hamburg - out of harm's way. Freud could only wait for a chance to raise his authority in the eyes of future relatives.

The opportunity came in the spring of 1885. Sigmund took part in a competition, the winner of which was entitled not only to a substantial prize, but also the right to a scientific internship in Paris with the famous hypnotist-neurologist Jean Charcot. His Viennese friends took care of the young doctor - and he, inspired, set off to conquer the capital of France.

The internship did not bring Freud either fame or money, but he was finally able to enter private practice and marry Martha. The woman to whom her loving husband often repeated: “I know that you are ugly in the sense that artists and sculptors understand it,” bore him three daughters and three sons and lived with him in harmony for more than half a century, only occasionally causing “culinary scandals over about cooking mushrooms."

Freud's Cocaine Story

In the fall of 1886, Freud opened a private doctor's office in Vienna and focused on the problem of curing neuroses. He already had experience - he received it in one of the city hospitals. There were also tested, although not very effective, techniques: electrotherapy, hypnosis (Freud had almost no knowledge of it), Charcot's shower, massage and baths. And more cocaine!

Having read a couple of years ago in the report of a certain German military doctor that water with cocaine “infused new strength into the soldiers,” Freud tested this remedy on himself and was so pleased with the result that he began to take small doses of the drug daily. Moreover, he wrote enthusiastic articles in which he called cocaine “a magical and harmless substitute for morphine,” and recommended it to friends and patients. Need I say that there was no particular benefit from such “treatment”? And with hysterical disorders, the condition of the patients even worsened.

Trying one thing or another, Freud realized: it is almost impossible to help a person suffering from neurosis with manipulations and pills. We need to look for a way to “climb” into his soul and find there the cause of the illness. And then he came up with the “method of free associations.” The patient is invited to freely express thoughts on the topic proposed by the psychoanalyst - whatever comes to mind. And the psychoanalyst can only interpret the images. .. The same should be done with dreams.

And it went! Patients were happy to share their secrets (and money) with Freud, and he analyzed them. Over time, he discovered that the problems of most neurotics are related to their intimate sphere, or rather, to problems in it. True, when Freud made a report on his discovery at a meeting of the Vienna Society of Psychiatrists and Neurologists, he was simply expelled from this society.

Neurosis had already begun in the psychoanalyst himself. However, following the popular expression “Doctor, heal yourself!”, Zigmud managed to improve his mental health and discover one of the causes of the disease - the Oedipus complex. The scientific community was also hostile to this idea, but there was no end to the patients.

Freud became known as a successful practicing neurologist and psychiatrist. Colleagues began to actively refer to his articles and books in their works. And on March 5, 1902, when the Emperor of Austria François Joseph I signed an official decree conferring the title of assistant professor on Sigmund Freud, a turn to real glory took place. The exalted intelligentsia of the early 20th century, suffering at a turning point from neuroses and hysteria, rushed to the office at Bergasse 19 for help.

In 1922, the University of London honored the great geniuses of mankind - the philosophers Philo and Maimonides, the greatest scientist of the modern era, Spinoza, as well as Freud and Einstein. Now the address “Vienna, Bergasse 19” was known to almost the whole world: patients from different countries turned to the “father of psychoanalysis”, and appointments were made many years in advance.

The “adventurer” and “conquistador of science,” as Freud himself liked to call himself, found his Eldorado. However, my health failed. In April 1923, he was operated on for oral cancer. But they could not defeat the disease. The first operation was followed by three dozen others, including the removal of part of the jaw.

More than 100 years have passed since Sigmund Freud published many of his groundbreaking books and articles. The founder of modern psychoanalysis loved to wander through the nooks and crannies of the human mind. He studied and theorized about dreams, culture, child development, sexuality, and mental health. His interests were varied. Some of the theories put forward by Freud have been discredited, but most of the ideas have been confirmed by modern scientists and are widely used in practice. If you are interested in the ideas of self-knowledge, you cannot ignore the teachings of the Austrian psychoanalyst.

Freud talked about things that not many of us want to hear. He convicted us of ignorance of our own selfhood. Most likely, he was right, and our conscious thoughts are just the tip of a large iceberg. Here are 12 facts left to us by our great predecessor as a gift.

Nothing happens for nothing

Freud discovered that there are no misunderstandings or coincidences. Do you think these feelings are random and dictated by impulses? But in fact, any event, desire and action, even those committed on a subconscious level, plays an important role in our lives. A young woman accidentally left her keys in her lover's apartment. Her subconscious reveals secret desires: she would not mind returning there again. The expression “Freudian slip” arose for a reason. The scientist believed that verbal blunders and mistakes reveal true human thoughts. Very often we are driven by fears from the past, experienced traumas or hidden fantasies. No matter how we try to suppress them, they still break out.

The weakness and strength of every person is his sexuality

Sex is the main driving force for people. This is exactly the denominator under which we can fit all of us. However, many people deny this at all costs. We are so imbued with the lofty principles of Darwinism that we are ashamed of our animal nature. And, despite the fact that we have risen above all other living beings, we still have their weaknesses. For most of its history, humanity has denied its “dark side.” This is how Puritanism was born. But even the most correct people are forced to fight against their own sexual appetites throughout their lives. Take a look at the many scandals that have rocked the Vatican, other fundamentalist churches, prominent politicians and celebrities. Early in his professional career, Freud observed this lustful struggle among men and women in Victorian Vienna, from which he drew his conclusions.

"In some cases, a cigar is just a cigar"

A common idea in modern psychology is to look at each subject from multiple perspectives. For example, a cigar could well become a phallic symbol. However, not all meanings have far-reaching consequences. Freud himself loved to smoke, which is why he uttered such a truth.

Every part of the body is erotic

The founder of the theory of psychoanalysis knew that people have been sexual creatures since their very birth. He was inspired by the sight of a mother breastfeeding her baby. This picture clearly illustrates an example of more mature sexuality. Everyone who has seen a well-fed child who has let go of his mother’s breast notices how the baby with glowing cheeks and a blissful smile on his lips immediately falls asleep. Later this picture will completely reflect the picture of sexual satisfaction. Freud was deeply convinced that sexual arousal is not limited to the genitals. Pleasure is achieved through stimulation of any part of the body by partners. Sex and eroticism are not limited to sexual intercourse. However, most people today find this idea difficult to accept.

A thought is a sharp turn on the way to the fulfillment of a desire

Freud highly valued the very act of thinking (desires and fantasies). Psychotherapists and psychoanalysts often observe people's fantasies in their practice. They often value them higher than actual real-world performance. And although reality cannot be measured through vivid imagination, this phenomenon has its own unique purpose. Neuroscientists say this serves as the basis for imagination.

Talking makes a person feel better

Psychological therapy for the individual, based on psychoanalysis, proves that talking relieves emotional symptoms, reduces anxiety and frees up the mind. While drug therapy is only short-term and effective in combating the underlying symptoms of ailments, talk therapy is a powerful tool in improving a patient's condition. It is important to remember that treatment involves a person, not just a set of symptoms or a diagnosis. If the patient expects long-term changes, it is necessary to talk with him.

Defense Mechanisms

Now we take the term “defense mechanism” for granted. This has long been part of the basic understanding of human behavior. The theory, which Freud developed with his daughter Anna, states that in order to protect against feelings of anxiety or unacceptable impulses, the subconscious mind can deny or distort reality. There are many types of defense mechanisms, the most well known being denial, denial and projection. Denial is when a person refuses to acknowledge what has happened or is happening. Refusal is formed due to reluctance to admit one’s addictions (for example, alcoholism or drug addiction). This type of defense mechanism can also be projected into the social sphere (for example, reluctance to acknowledge the trend of climate change or victims of political repression).

Resistance to change

The human mind imposes a certain pattern of behavior that always tends to resist change. Everything new in our understanding is fraught with a threat and entails undesirable consequences, even if the changes occur for the better. Fortunately, the method of psychoanalysis has found means for regulating consciousness, which make it possible to overcome the stubborn ability to create obstacles to the path of forward movement.

The past affects the present

Now, in 2016, this postulate may seem more prosaic than 100 years ago. But for Freud this was the moment of truth. Today, many of Freud's theories about child development and the effects of early life experiences on later behavior contribute significantly to success in treating patients with mental disorders.

Transfer concept

Another well-known theory by Sigmund Freud talks about how the past can influence the present through the concept of transference. This postulate is also widely used in modern psychological practice. Transference refers to strong feelings, experiences, fantasies, hopes and fears that we experienced as children or teenagers. They are an unconscious driving force and can influence our adult relationships.

Development

Human development does not end with the onset of puberty, but continues throughout the life cycle. Success depends on how we are able to change under the influence of certain problems. Life always challenges us, and each new stage in development allows us to evaluate personal goals and values ​​again and again.

Civilization is the source of social suffering

Freud stated that the tendency to aggression is the greatest obstacle to civilization. Few thinkers have seemed so steadfast in their regard for this human quality. In 1929, with the rise of European anti-Semitism, Freud wrote: “Man is a wolf to man. Who can challenge this? The fascist regime banned Freud's theories, as the communists later did. He was called a destroyer of morality, but he himself disliked America most of all. He believed that Americans channeled their sexuality into an unhealthy obsession with money: "Isn't it sad to depend on these savages who are not the best class of people?" Paradoxically, it was America that ultimately turned out to be the most favorable repository of Sigmund Freud's ideas.

Some purely scientific terms from his theory about personality development and the sexual origin of neurological complexes and diseases have become firmly established in people’s everyday lives.

Sigmund Freud was the first-born and favorite of his mother, who after him had seven more children. Sigmund's father had 4 children from his first marriage. Freud studied at the University of Vienna and was always a capable student. But his studies took 8 years, since he moved from one faculty to another several times, being unable to finally decide what profession to choose. Sigmund eventually decided on medicine after concluding that his initial decision to become a politician was futile: Freud realized that his opportunities in this profession would be very limited because he was Jewish.

Freud began to conduct scientific research studying the human nervous system. This led him to study diseases of the nervous system and possible treatments for them. He experimented with hypnosis, enthusiastically studied cocaine as a therapeutic agent, and in 1896 entered private practice as a specialist in diseases of the nervous system. That same year, at the age of 30, he married Martha Bernays.

In the late 90s, Freud suffered a severe nervous breakdown caused by the agony and death of his father and the loss of interest in sex after the birth of his last child. In the process of analyzing the difficult dreams and even nightmares that haunted him at that time, he began to use psychoanalysis, that “talking cure” that was first developed and used by his teacher Joseph Breuer. Over the next 40 years, Freud's life was spent in an atmosphere of domestic stability and great scientific achievements. He managed to gather around himself many talented scientists, such as Carl Jung, Alfred Adler, Sandor Ferenczi and Ernst Jones. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, they burned Freud's scientific works, declaring them "Jewish pornography." Only in 1938 did Freud manage to escape to London. The Greek princess Marie Bonaparte, a close friend and former patient of Freud, paid a ransom of £20,000 for him. Freud spent the last year of his life in London. He died there in 1939 from jaw cancer.

Freud made it his profession to study the sexual secrets and secrets of the people around him, but he did everything possible to hide his own intimate life from everyone. He simply destroyed many of his private letters, and the few that have survived to this day are stored in the Library of the US Congress and will be open to researchers only in 2000.

At the age of 16, Sigmund fell in love for the first time in his life. His beloved Gisela Fluse rejected his love. He took revenge on her by falling in love with her mother. Until the age of 26, Freud then showed no interest in women. In 1882, he met Martha Bernays, a thin, pretty girl from a Jewish family. She turned 21 years old. For 4 years they were engaged, exchanging hundreds of letters, but meeting quite rarely, although Freud lived not far from her. Freud was a very passionate and jealous correspondent.

They eventually managed to save enough money and married in 1886. After several moves, they settled in a house in Vienna, where they lived until 1938. During the first nine years of her marriage, Martha had six children. In 1895, Martha's sister Minna came to them and lived with them for two years. Freud was faithful to Martha, but began to move away from her. He threw himself into work, and Martha had enough household chores and worries. She was in charge of the whole house, and she always tried to create all the conditions for her husband to work and relax. Freud later admitted that Martha never felt at ease and at ease when communicating with him.

Soon after his father's death, Freud met and became friends with Wilhelm Fliess, a prominent Berlin specialist in diseases of the ear, nose and throat. They became very attached to each other, often exchanged letters and met for “conventions,” as they themselves called these meetings. Freud wrote: “I look forward to our next meeting with great impatience... My life is sad... Only a meeting with you can make me feel better again.” Fliss treated his friend very carefully and caringly. He tried to wean Freud from the habit of smoking 20 cigars a day. Freud himself, by the way, argued that smoking, drug use and gambling are just a vain attempt to replace the “primitive habit” - masturbation. During one of their “conventions,” Freud fainted. He later spoke about the incident as follows: “The basis of all this is some kind of uncontrollable homosexual feeling.” The friendship with Fliess ended in 1903, mainly due to Freud's reaction to Wilhelm's theory of universal bisexuality. At first, Freud rejected this theory, and then began to claim that it was first put forward by himself, and decided to write a large scientific work on this topic. Freud believed that every person is bisexual, and even stated: “In every sexual act there are four distinct personalities involved.”

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There were rumors that Freud and his wife's sister Minna were lovers. Minna was more beautiful and much smarter than her sister Martha. Freud loved to talk with her and tell her about his theory of psychoanalysis. He once wrote that Minna was very similar to himself: they were both “uncontrollable, passionate and not very good people.” Martha, unlike them, was, in his words, “a very good person.” Freud loved to travel. Minna often accompanied him, and Martha stayed at home with the children. The main source of rumors that Freud and Minna were lovers was Carl Jung, a student of Freud. It was he who allegedly told one of his friends that Minna and Martha separately initiated him into this secret. In particular, Jung told one American professor that one day in 1907, when he was visiting Freud’s house in Vienna, Minna told him that Freud loved her very much and that there was a very close relationship between them. Jung was very upset and turned to Freud himself for clarification. He also suggested that Freud approach him as a psychoanalyst and become his patient. Freud coldly refused this offer.

Freud had an insatiable sexual appetite, but sex itself was also intellectual entertainment for him. He had just turned 40 when he once wrote to Fliess: “Sexual arousal no longer exists for me.” He lived in accordance with the requirements of a strict moral code, which he wrote for himself. Despite the fact that all of his theories argued that sexual impulses underlie almost all human behavior and actions, Freud tried not to allow these impulses to have any influence on his own behavior. He was, after all, a respectable married man and always maintained that a family could not be strong until the wife became a mother. Six children, who were born almost one after another, partially extinguished his desires, forcing him to think more about contraceptives. In 1908, he wrote: “Family life ceases to give the pleasure that it promised to give at first. All contraceptives that exist today reduce sensual pleasure, strike partners in the most vulnerable places and can even make them sick.” In 1909, Freud arrived to the USA with Jung and several other colleagues to give public lectures there. One morning, Freud admitted to Jung that he was having erotic dreams about American women. “I’ve been sleeping very poorly since I came to America,” Freud admitted. “I dream about prostitutes all the time.” "Well, why don't you do something to solve this problem?" Jung asked. Freud recoiled from him in horror: “But I’m married!” - he exclaimed.

Freud's theories claim that it is sexual forces that shape individual behavior. Culture muffles and suppresses instinctive sexual energy and directs it to the formation of stereotypes of social behavior in this particular individual. Freud's own life is partly proof of one of his statements. He considered this thought tragic, but true. Here it is: “The sex life of civilized man is seriously crippled.”

Freud, Sigmund - Austrian psychiatrist, neurologist, psychologist, founder of psychoanalysis.

Biography

Sigmund Freud (Sigismund Shlomo Freud) was born on May 6, 1856 in the village of Freiberg, which was then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The village was located 240 km from Vienna. Father, Jacob Freud, was a wool trader. Mother, Amalia Malka Natanson, came from Odessa. The family lived in one large room, which they rented from a drunken tinsmith.

In the fall of 1859, the family decided to seek their fortune elsewhere. The Freuds move to Leipzig, then to Vienna. True, even in the capital the family failed to improve their financial situation. Sigmund later recalled that his childhood was constantly associated with poverty.

In Vienna, Sigmund entered a private gymnasium and began to demonstrate great academic success. He learned English, French, Italian, Spanish well, and was interested in philosophy. At the age of 17, he graduated from high school with honors and was recognized as the best in his class.

After graduating from high school, Sigmund decided to connect his future life with medicine. He enters the medical faculty of the University of Vienna. Experiences serious difficulties because of his nationality. Anti-Semitic sentiment reigned in Austria-Hungary at that time, and many classmates did not forget to laugh at the Jewish young man.

In 1881, having graduated from the university, he could not yet open a private practice. He had theoretical knowledge, but no practical knowledge. The choice fell on the Vienna City Hospital. They paid little here, but you could gain valuable experience. Freud began working as a surgeon, but after two months decided to focus on neurology. Despite his success in this area, Freud becomes tired of working in the hospital, he considers it too tedious and boring.

In 1883, Sigmund moved to the psychiatry department. Here he felt that he had found his true calling. Despite this, he feels dissatisfied, largely due to his inability to earn enough money to get married. In 1884, Freud got lucky. Many doctors go to fight cholera in Montenegro, Sigmund’s director is on vacation, so he is appointed chief physician of the department for quite a long time.

In 1885, Freud wins a competition that allows him to go to Paris to study with the then famous psychiatrist Jean Charcot. Here Sigmund works on the study of neuropathology, finds a connection between sexual problems and psychological disorders.

In 1886, Freud returned to Vienna and opened a private practice here. The same year he married Martha Bernays.

In 1895, after many disappointments with various methods of studying the psyche, Freud discovered his own method - free association. The essence of the method was as follows: the patient had to relax and say whatever came to mind. Sigmund found that patients soon began to talk about past events, experiencing them emotionally. Freud soon learned to understand exactly what events in the past caused certain disorders in the patient. In 1886, the new method was called "psychoanalysis".

After this, Freud focused on the study of dreams. He noticed that during free association storytelling, patients often talked about dreams. As a result, Sigmund was able to discover what the secret meaning is hidden behind any dream. In 1900, Freud's book “The Interpretation of Dreams” was published, which many consider the best work of the Austrian researcher.

In 1905, a new book was published, “Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality.” Its essence is the study of connections between sexual problems and mental disorders. Colleagues did not accept Freud’s ideas, which was not surprising: at that time such thoughts were simply considered obscene. However, after a few years, Sigmund's ideas begin to become more and more popular.

In 1921, the University of London began giving lectures to five scientists: Einstein, Spinoza, the Kabbalist Ben Baimonides, the mystic Philo and Sigmund Freud. A psychiatrist is nominated for the Nobel Prize. It was a confession.

When Vienna fell to the Nazis, Freud decided to stay in the city, although his nationality posed a serious problem. He had every chance to go to Auschwitz, but almost the whole world began to defend the scientist. The Danish queen and the Spanish king protested particularly strongly against the scientist’s oppression. Franklin Roosevelt tried to get Freud deported. But the scientist’s fate was decided after Mussolini’s call to Hitler. A psychiatrist had once cured one of the fascist leader’s good friends, and now asked Freud to help. Himmler agreed to release Freud, but for a ransom. Maria Bonaparte, the granddaughter of Napoleon himself, agreed to give any amount for Freud. The Austrian Gauleiter asked for two of Mary's palaces - practically her entire fortune. Napoleon's granddaughter agreed. In Paris, the psychiatrist was met by Maria Bonaparte and Prince George. Soon Freud goes to Great Britain, where he meets Bernard Shaw.

On September 23, 1939, Freud's friend, at his request, injects him with a triple dose of morphine. Sigmund suffered greatly from oral cancer, so he decided to euthanasia. Three days later the body was cremated.

Freud's Major Achievements

• Creator of the method of free association and psychoanalysis.
• Through his research he proved that unconscious structures are quite accessible to analysis. As a result, Freud built an interconnected picture of the human psyche.

Important dates in Freud's biography

• May 6, 1856 - birth in the village of Freiberg.
• 1873 – admission to the University of Vienna.
• 1876 ​​- beginning of scientific work at the Institute of Zoological Research.
• 1881 – graduation from university. Start of work at the Vienna City Hospital.
• 1885 - arrival in Paris and work with Jean Charcot.
• 1886 - return to Vienna. Marriage. The term “psychoanalysis” was used for the first time.
• 1895 – publication of the book “Studies in Hysteria”.
• 1900 – publication of the book “The Interpretation of Dreams”.
• 1908 – founding of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society by Freud’s like-minded people.
• 1909 – Arrival in the USA to give lectures.
• 1833 - a series of brochures “Continuation of Lectures on Introduction to Psychoanalysis” is published.
• 1938 - becomes a hostage of the Nazis. He was able to leave Austria thanks to the intercession of Maria Bonaparte and a number of state leaders.
• September 23, 1939 – euthanasia.

• I used cocaine for some time, wanting to study its effects on the human body. Recognized cocaine as an extremely dangerous drug.
• He was a heavy smoker. He considered smoking to be the greatest pleasure in life.
• He left behind 24 volumes of works.
• I was afraid of the number 62.
• Lost my virginity at age 30 because I was afraid of women.
• I hated music. He threw away his sister's piano and did not visit restaurants with an orchestra.
• He had a phenomenal photographic memory.

Freud S., 1856-1939). An outstanding doctor and psychologist, founder of psychoanalysis. F. was born in the Moravian city of Freiburg. In 1860, the family moved to Vienna, where he graduated from high school with honors, then entered the medical faculty of the university and in 1881 received the degree of Doctor of Medicine.

F. dreamed of devoting himself to theoretical research in the field of neurology, but was forced to engage in private practice as a neuropathologist. He was not satisfied with the physiotherapeutic procedures used at that time to treat neurological patients, and he turned to hypnosis. Under the influence of medical practice, F. developed an interest in mental disorders of a functional nature. In 1885-1886 he visited the Charcot clinic (J.M. Charcot) in Paris, where hypnosis was used in the study and treatment of hysterical patients. In 1889 - a trip to Nancy and acquaintance with the works of another French school of hypnosis. This trip contributed to the fact that F. formed an idea about the basic mechanism of functional mental illness, about the presence of mental processes that, being outside the sphere of consciousness, influence behavior, and the patient himself does not know about it.

The decisive moment in the development of F.'s original theory was the departure from hypnosis as a means of penetration into forgotten experiences underlying neuroses. In many and even the most severe cases, hypnosis remained powerless, as it met resistance that it could not overcome. F. was forced to look for other paths to pathogenic affects and eventually found them in the interpretation of dreams, freely emerging associations, small and large psychopathological manifestations, excessively increased or decreased sensitivity, movement disorders, slips of the tongue, forgetting, etc. He paid special attention drew attention to the phenomenon of the patient transferring to the doctor feelings that took place in early childhood in relation to significant persons.

F. called the study and interpretation of this diverse material psychoanalysis - the original form of psychotherapy and research method. The core of psychoanalysis as a new psychological direction is the doctrine of the unconscious.

F.'s scientific activity spans several decades, during which his concept underwent significant changes, which gives grounds for conditionally distinguishing three periods.

In the first period, psychoanalysis mainly remained a method of treating neuroses, with occasional attempts at general conclusions about the nature of mental life. Such works by F. of this period as “The Interpretation of Dreams” (1900) and “The Psychopathology of Everyday Life” (1901) have not lost their significance. F. considered suppressed sexual desire to be the main driving force of human behavior - “Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality” (1905). At this time, psychoanalysis began to gain popularity, and a circle formed around F. of representatives of various professions (doctors, writers, artists) who wanted to study psychoanalysis (1902). F.'s extension of the facts obtained from the study of psychoneuroses to the understanding of the mental life of healthy people was met with very critical attention.

In the second period, the concept of psychology turned into a general psychological doctrine of personality and its development. In 1909, he gave lectures in the USA, which were later published as a complete, albeit brief, presentation of psychoanalysis - “On Psychoanalysis: Five Lectures” (1910). The most common work is the "Lectures on Introduction to Psychoanalysis", the first two volumes of which are a recording of lectures given to doctors in 1916-1917.

In the third period, F.'s teaching - Freudianism - underwent significant changes and received its philosophical completion. Psychoanalytic theory has become the basis for understanding culture, religion, and civilization. The doctrine of instincts was supplemented by ideas about the attraction to death and destruction - “Beyond the pleasure principle” (1920). These ideas, obtained by F. in the treatment of wartime neuroses, led him to the conclusion that wars are a consequence of the death instinct, that is, they are caused by human nature. The description of the three-component model of human personality - “I and It” (1923) dates back to the same period.

Thus, F. developed a number of hypotheses, models, and concepts that captured the uniqueness of the psyche and were firmly included in the arsenal of scientific knowledge about it. The range of scientific analysis involved phenomena that traditional academic psychology was not accustomed to taking into account.

After the occupation of Austria by the Nazis, F. was persecuted. The International Union of Psychoanalytic Societies, having paid a significant amount of money to the fascist authorities in the form of a ransom, obtained permission for F. to leave for England. In England he was greeted enthusiastically, but F.'s days were numbered. He died on September 23, 1939, aged 83, in London.

FREUD Sigmund

1856–1939) – Austrian neurologist, founder of psychoanalysis. Born on May 6, 1856 in Freiberg (now Příbor), located near the border of Moravia and Silesia, approximately two hundred and forty kilometers northeast of Vienna. Seven days later, the boy was circumcised and given two names - Shlomo and Sigismund. He inherited the Hebrew name Shlomo from his grandfather, who died two and a half months before the birth of his grandson. Only when he turned sixteen years old did the young man change his name Sigismund to the name Sigmund.

His father Jacob Freud married Amalia Nathanson, Freud's mother, being much older than her and having two sons from his first marriage, one of whom was the same age as Amalia. At the time of the birth of their first child, Freud's father was 41 years old, while his mother was three months away from turning 21. Over the next ten years, seven children were born into the Freud family - five daughters and two sons, one of whom died a few months after his birth, when Sigismund was less than two years old.

Due to a number of circumstances related to economic decline, the rise of nationalism and the futility of further life in a small town, Freud’s family moved in 1859 to Leipzig, and then a year later to Vienna. Freud lived in the capital of the Austrian Empire for almost 80 years.

During this time, he brilliantly graduated from high school; in 1873, at the age of 17, he entered the medical faculty of the University of Vienna, from which he graduated in 1881, receiving a medical degree. For several years, Freud worked at the E. Brücke Physiological Institute and the Vienna City Hospital. In 1885–1886, he completed a six-month internship in Paris with the famous French doctor J. Charcot in Salpêtrière. Upon returning from his internship, he married Martha Bernays, eventually becoming the father of six children - three daughters and three sons.

Having opened a private practice in 1886, S. Freud used various methods of treating nervous patients and put forward his understanding of the origin of neuroses. In the 90s of the nineteenth century, he laid the foundations for a new method of research and treatment, called psychoanalysis. At the beginning of the twentieth century, he developed the psychoanalytic ideas he put forward.

Over the next two decades, S. Freud made further contributions to the theory and technique of classical psychoanalysis, used his ideas and methods of treatment in private practice, wrote and published numerous works devoted to clarifying his original ideas about human unconscious drives and the use of psychoanalytic ideas in various fields knowledge.

Z. Freud received international recognition, was friends and corresponded with such outstanding figures of science and culture as Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, Romain Roland, Arnold Zweig, Stefan Zweig and many others.

In 1922, the University of London and the Jewish Historical Society organized a series of lectures on five famous Jewish philosophers, including Freud, along with Philo, Maimonides, Spinoza, and Einstein. In 1924, the Vienna City Council awarded Z. Freud the title of honorary citizen. On his seventieth birthday, he received congratulatory telegrams and letters from all over the world. In 1930 he was awarded the Goethe Literary Prize. In honor of his seventy-fifth birthday, a memorial plaque was erected in Freiberg on the house in which he was born.

On the occasion of S. Freud's eightieth birthday, Thomas Mann read out an address he had written before the Academic Society of Medical Psychology. The appeal bore about two hundred signatures of famous writers and artists, including Virginia Woolf, Hermann Hess, Salvador Dali, James Joyce, Pablo Picasso, Romain Roland, Stefan Zweig, Aldous Huxley, and Herbert Wells.

S. Freud was elected an honorary member of the American Psychoanalytic Association, the French Psychoanalytic Society, and the British Royal Medical-Psychological Association. He was given the official title of Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society.

After the Nazi invasion of Austria in March 1938, the life of S. Freud and his family was under threat. The Nazis seized the library of the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, visited the house of S. Freud, conducting a thorough search there, confiscated his bank account, and summoned his children, Martin and Anna Freud, to the Gestapo.

Thanks to the help and support of the American Ambassador to France, W.S. Bullitt, Princess Marie Bonaparte and other influential persons, S. Freud received permission to leave and at the beginning of June 1938 left Vienna to move to London through Paris.

S. Freud spent the last year and a half of his life in England. In the very first days of his stay in London, he was visited by Herbert Wells, Bronislav Malinowski, Stefan Zweig, who brought with him Salvador Dali, secretaries of the Royal Society, acquaintances, friends. Despite his advanced age, the development of cancer, which was first discovered in him in April 1923, accompanied by numerous operations and steadfastly endured by him for 16 years, S. Freud carried out almost daily analyzes of patients and continued to work on his handwritten materials.

On September 21, 1938, S. Freud asked his attending physician Max Schur to fulfill the promise he had made to him ten years earlier at their first meeting. To avoid unbearable suffering, M. Schur twice injected his famous patient with a small dose of morphine, which turned out to be sufficient for the dignified death of the founder of psychoanalysis. On September 23, 1939, S. Freud died without learning that a few years later his four sisters who remained in Vienna would be burned in a crematorium by the Nazis.

From the pen of S. Freud came not only various works devoted to the technique of medical use of psychoanalysis, but also such books as “The Interpretation of Dreams” (1900), “Psychopathology of Everyday Life” (1901), “Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious” (1905), “Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality” (1905), “Delusions and Dreams in V. Jensen’s Gradiva” (1907), “Memories of Leonardo da Vinci” (1910), “Totem and Taboo” (1913) , “Lectures on Introduction to Psychoanalysis” (1916/17), “Beyond the Pleasure Principle” (1920), “Mass Psychology and Analysis of the Human Self” (1921), “I and Id” (1923), “Inhibition, Symptom and fear" (1926), "The Future of an Illusion" (1927), "Dostoevsky and Parricide" (1928), "Discontent with Culture" (1930), "Moses the Man and the Monotheistic Religion" (1938) and others.