I have been meaning to expand my knowledge by learning things other than philosophy, “Proper”…
I have already begun this quest by reading several books on physics over the course of last summer.
Now, I wish to turn my attention to the subject of psychology. Where the heck do I start, though?
I figured I start by first reading a book by perhaps the most frequently mentioned psychologist, Sigmund Freud.
I’ve already begun reading Freud’s chief work, Interpretations of Dreams. I’m finding it not only to be very interesting, but also, incredibly read-able.
I was bracing myself for a far more difficult style of text (like Nietzsche or Hume). But Freud is nothing like this! In fact, he is relatively easy to understand.
However, am I really going to get anything out of Freud that is still considered “relavent and accurate” today? Are Freud’s theories still considered authoritative today? Or, have they long been replaced by more accurate theories by more recent thinkers?
That stuff is mostly BS taken from Hinduism and Schopenhauer. I suggest that you pick up some books by Albert Ellis or Aaron Beck. They are in the cognitive therapy realm.
If you really want a good read then check out Alfred Adler. He is my favorite theorist in psychology and I think the one that is most accurate. I can’t believe that I didn’t mention him.
How about Jung or William James?
Jung was heavily influenced by a lot of nonsense from the east just as Freud was. The is a strong smell of reincarnation to his work.
William James came up with a variety of good ideas, but it very dry reading.
Once you get a bit more involved, there is a book called “Consciousness Explained” by Daniel Dennet. It is a great piece of work that’s intriguing, especially if you’re interested in philosophy as well as psychology.
I don't think he's necessarially correct, but it's a good book.
The thing that is silly about Freud and dreams is that he believes that somehow there’s all this hidden knowledge in your brain that comes out through symbols. The big question, that almost must have a mystical answer, is how did it get there?
I prefer the Adlerian approach, which is to say that dreams are mostly examples of a person’s goals, or general approach to life. They are just a little story.
I personally believe that many dreams are just made up of random images. Two days ago I was reading something about the new Superman movie, and then I had a dream about Superman fighting some alien last night. This kind of things happens a lot to me. I saw something semi-forgot about it and then had a dream. I don’t see that as a big deal.
Interestingly, in 16 years I have almost never had anyone ask me about dreams. It sounds like a fun subject to talk about.
I think that dream experiences are in nature the same as conscious thought experiences, but they are more freely associative because, for whatever reason, the rules of logic are not applied to them, and thus a hallucination can be sustained and completely immersive.
I had a dream a few weeks ago that I was living with a parapelegic chick. She was my roommate or something. Anyways, we just did things like watch TV and eat cereal together and other mundane things. It felt really good.
Yes, but even the most unpractical, useless, worthless, most un-worthy forms of ideas still exist from thousands of years ago. Just because something has the potentiality to exist eternally does not necessarily mean that it’s value will continue to co-exist forever, as well…
There are several problems with Freud. Most of which
is he based on all his theories on about 20 middle age
upper class women and himself. The idea of transference,
his idea of sex, the idea of oedipus, are all based on those
few people mentioned. Remember freud made his first
mark doing work on cocaine. He thought it was an easy
cure all for everything.
Yep, I have no idea why this is and am sad about it.
It could be because my clients have always been lower-class people with all kinds of mental problems. Perhaps they are more focused on what’s going on right now. It’s also possible that people under stress remember less of their dreams, that happens to me, and so the subject never comes up.
I’ve always questioned your credentials Ad. Now I’m afraid there is more evidence. 16 years? My gosh, not one client has discussed his/her dreams with you? How is it that you do not ask about your clients’ dreams?
I am of the opinion that you are a fraud. Unless of course fresh evidence comes to light. I doubt it though.
