Freud and Jung
Both Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung are famous Psychoanalysis with unique approaches to personality. At one point they shared many of the same theories and had a deep friendship. In fact, Jung was to be heir to Freud's position as president of the International Psychoanalytic Association. However, Jung developed several new theories and disagreements with Freud. After years of friendship the pair parted in 1913. There were three main areas of personality which Jung disagreed with Freud on--the role of sexuality, temporal forces that influence personality, and the unconscious.
The role of sexuality in personality differed greatly in Freud and Jung's theories. Freud felt that sex was the single most important force that shaped and guided personality. His preoccupation with sex may have developed from his own personal experiences with it. As a child, Freud developed a sexual attachment to his mother. Through this experience Freud developed the Oedipus complex as Freud cited “Many men dream of having sexual relations with their mothers and speak of the fact with indignation and astonishment.”(921). For example, if a patient dreamt about a long object, Freud would most likely say that it represents the phallus and ultimately sex, while Jung may say that it has nothing to do with the desire to have sex at all but rather the phallic object could refer to strength or fertility. This is where Jung and Freud had their greatest difference. Jung didn’t believe that everything was based so much on sexuality while Freud did. Jung cited “The dreams are obviously reiterating the conscious standpoint minus the conscious criticism.”(935) Furthermore, Freud believed that sex was the basis of most emotional problems. He felt that a normal, healthy sex life was essential to emotional happiness. It is odd, however, that Freud based so much importance in sex when his sex life was very unsatisfactory. Freud became resentful after his wife terminated their sexual...