Synthesized answer
Freud distinguishes his method from W. Wundt and the Zurich Psychoanalytic School. W. Wundt attempts to achieve the same object through assumptions and procedures from non-analytic psychology [1]. In contrast, the Zurich Psychoanalytic School follows the opposite course and strives to settle problems of individual psychology by referring to material of racial psychology [1]. Freud's own work was initially stimulated by these two sources [1].
Freud's approach, as indicated by the subtitle of his book, involves applying the viewpoints and results of psychoanalysis to unexplained problems of racial psychology [2]. He posits that there are resemblances between the psychic lives of savages and neurotics, suggesting that the psychic life of primitive races represents an early stage of our own development [4]. Freud believes that knowledge gained from dream analysis and phantasies, when applied to racial phantasies like myths and fairy tales, suggests that the initial impulse to form myths stemmed from the same emotional strivings that produce dreams and fancies [3]. This work aims to initiate a new epoch in the study of racial psychology [3].
Synthesized from the book passages below. Chat with the book on Feynman for follow-up.
From the book
cial psychology. In method this book contrasts with that of W. Wundt and the works of the Zurich Psychoanalytic School. The former tries to accomplish the same object through assumptions and procedures from non-analytic psychology, while the latter follow the opposite course and strive to settle problems of individual psychology by referring to material of racial psychology[1]. I am pleased to say that the first stimulus for my own works came from these two sources. I am fully aware of the shortcomings in these essays. I shall not touch upon those which are characteristic of first…
RESEMBLANCES BETWEEN THE PSYCHIC LIVES OF SAVAGES AND NEUROTICS BY PROFESSOR SIGMUND FREUD, L<small>l</small>.D. Authorized English Translation, with Introduction by A. A. BRILL, Ph.B., M.D. Asst. Prof. of Psychiatry, N.Y. Post-Graduate Medical School; Lecturer in Psychoanalysis and Abnormal Psychology, New York University; former Chief of Clinic of Psychiatry, Columbia University [Illustration: colophon] LONDON GEORGE ROUTLEDGE & SONS, LIMITED 1919 _Printed in Great Britain by_ Butler & Tanner. _Frome and London_ AUTHOR’S PREFACE The essays…
r the sum total of his early impressions; psychoanalysis thus confirms the old saying: The child is father to the man. It is at this point in the development of psychoanalysis that the paths gradually broadened until they finally culminated in this work. There were many indications that the childhood of the individual showed a marked resemblance to the primitive history or the childhood of races. The knowledge gained from dream analysis and phantasies[7], when applied to the productions of racial phantasies, like myths and fairy tales, seemed to indicate that the first impulse to form…
uliar interest for us, for we can recognize in their psychic life a well-preserved, early stage of our own development. If this assumption is correct, a comparison of the ‘Psychology of Primitive Races’ as taught by folklore, with the psychology of the neurotic as it has become known through psychoanalysis will reveal numerous points of correspondence and throw new light on subjects that are more or less familiar to us. For outer as well as for inner reasons, I am choosing for this comparison those tribes which have been described by ethnographists as being most backward and wretched:…
epoch in the history of mental science. One might use the same words in reference to his profound analysis of wit[6]. Faulty psychic actions, dreams and wit are products of the unconscious mental activity, and like neurotic or psychotic manifestations represent efforts at adjustment to one’s environment. The slip of the tongue shows that on account of unconscious inhibitions the individual concerned is unable to express his true thoughts; the dream is a distorted or plain expression of those wishes which are prohibited in the waking states, and the witticism, owing to its veiled or…
More questions about this book
- If you were to explain the central goal of "Totem and Taboo" to a curious friend who knows nothing about it, how would you articulate Freud's unique approach to "racial psychology" and the "resemblances" he seeks to explore?
- Freud states that his essays "can only be thoroughly understood and judged by those who are really acquainted with psychoanalysis as such." What specific foundational concepts or theoretical frameworks must a reader already grasp to fully engage with his arguments in "Totem and Taboo"?
- Freud hopes his work serves as a "bond" between ethnology, philology, folklore, and psychoanalysts. What unique contributions or new avenues of inquiry could a psychoanalytic lens offer to these allied sciences, and conversely, what might they offer to psychoanalysis?
- The subtitle of the book mentions "RESEMBLANCES BETWEEN THE PSYCHIC LIVES OF SAVAGES AND NEUROTICS." Given the historical context of 1919, what potential ethical, social, or academic controversies might such a comparison inherently provoke, and why?