Sigmund Freud, a pioneer of psychoanalytic theory, attempted to understand the areas of human consciousness and the human unconscious. He was born in Austria in 1856, and he died in 1939 at age 83.
In fact, Freud’s theories are based on his observations of patients who came to him for treatment for various psychological problems. These patients often reported memories of early childhood experiences that were hidden from them until they revealed them during therapy sessions. Freud theorized that these memories were repressed from conscious awareness because they were too traumatic or disturbing for the patient to deal with at the time of their occurrence. It is these repressed memories that Freud believed created what he called “neuroses,” which are mental illnesses characterized by anxiety and psychological disturbances.
Freud’s theories were revolutionary in their time because they challenged traditional beliefs about human behavior and motivation that had been held since ancient times by philosophers such as Plato (428 BCE) and Aristotle (384–322 BCE).
One of Freud’s most famous theories is known as the Oedipus complex , which states that young boys develop sexual feelings towards their mothers and want to marry them when they become adults; conversely, young girls develop feelings towards their fathers and want to marry them when they become adults.
