Analysis of Sigmund Freuds Totem Taboo
What can be said of Sigmund Freud and his psychological theories through the analysis of his work? ... Prior to reading Totem and Taboo, I had never opened a single book written by Freud. ... However, as a result of reading Totem and Taboo, I was able to walk away with a much deeper understanding of Freud’s personal beliefs as to the psychology of sex, art, and of course, religion. Sigmund Freud believes strongly in the effectiveness of psychoanalysis, and it is through that process that he has developed the theory of the Oedipal complex, which he applies to the psychology of human beings. ... It is through his writings in Totem and Taboo that he lays out the groundwork for his understanding of the connection between sex, power, fear, jealousy, and religion. ... Brill, the translator of this particular edition of Totem and Taboo, psychoanalysis is the theory that states, “The child is the father of man” (Brill, xiv). ... Most of these laws have to do with not disgracing the sacred animal; it is strictly forbidden to kill, eat, look at, or even come in contact with the animal that represents the totem. These tribes unite under the common bond of this totem animal, viewing it as the ancestor of all people within their tribe. ... This is the driving point of Totem and Taboo, the psychological reasons for this and its relation to religion are what Freud then begins to dissect. ... The totem unites those in a tribe, not allowing for any sexual intercourse within the members of that tribe. ... Freud spends much time on the idea of the “ambivalence of emotions,” ambivalence being a positive and negative emotional consequence when presented with an object that is considered taboo. His second chapter goes into immense detail as to what truly is the nature of that which is taboo. However, Freud sums up taboo very simply in his quotation of Wundt early in the second chapter, as that which is “…sacred… yet unclean” (Wundt 29). I will not go into detail as to the full nature of taboo, as I do not have enough time to truly explain it. However, the important thing to understand in terms of taboo, according to Freud, is that what is pleasurable is oftentimes taboo, which pushes it into our unconscious. This is the origin for Freud’s belief that incest is something that is desired, the fact that it is an enforced taboo in primitive culture attests to this fact. He also explains that contact, an important factor of the act of being taboo, is always considered strictly forbidden in terms of the totem animal, or in the case of civilized society, kings and chiefs. So we can now understand that Totem societies create a sacred object (oftentimes that of an animal), unite a whole group under the sacred belief in that animal, and create a system of taboos not to disrespect that animal or participate in sexual intercourse with any member of the totemic society. ... It is in the second half of his work that Sigmund Freud then makes his stunning connection between the unconscious desires of neurotics, and that of the actions of savage totemic societies.