{"id":36881,"date":"2024-03-19T22:18:58","date_gmt":"2024-03-20T05:18:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=36881"},"modified":"2024-03-19T22:18:58","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T05:18:58","slug":"fifty-shades-of-freud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/fifty-shades-of-freud\/","title":{"rendered":"Fifty Shades of Freud"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matt Petrusek, in a lecture on Wokeism- The Frankenstein of Political Ideologies (Lecture 1) shared a story from 2006 when a Duke Lacrosse Team was accused of raping a young woman. [1] I was curious about the details of this story, so I found a You tube: Presumed Guilty: Due Process Lessons of the Duke Lacrosse Team.[2] This story illustrates the \u201clived experience epistemology.\u201d The African American woman who had been hired as a striper for the Lacrosse team was asked by an emergency hospital nurse if she had been raped and took this idea and created a false narrative around it. The accuser of the Lacrosse team, the 88 faculty members of Duke University, and the press had no interest in the truth, and they rushed to make false allegations. [3] Petrusek describes this \u201clived experience epistemology\u201d as moral authority lying in one\u2019s experience. This progressive thinking holds that there are no objective facts but only experience. After hearing this story, I was left wondering: how could this young woman falsely accuse this team of raping her? and how could so many side with her without asking \u201cWhat is really going on here?\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Reading Carl Trueman’s book: <\/span>The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self<\/span><\/i> gives explanation for the sexual revolution and credits Sigmund Frued as being one of the most \u201cimportant influence(s) on the whole notion of sex as identity that now grips the popular social imaginary.\u201d [4] As a clinical psychologist, with a desire to gain greater understanding of the impact that Freud has on culture and contemporary thought, I will share some of Freud\u2019s contributions and the faults stemming from his theories. Freud’s work is part genius but it also has set a trajectory of thought that has endowed us without looking at objective facts but a \u201clived experience epistemology.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Freud\u2019s Innovative Contribution<\/b><\/p>\n

Among those who have recognized Sigmund Frued\u2019s contributions are Irvin D. Yalom, Daniel Z. Lieberman, and Albert Ellis who are contemporary leading voices in psychology. Yalom taught at Stanford and had his students read \u201cFreud\u2019s first texts, <\/span>Studies in Hysteria<\/span><\/i>, selected sections of <\/span>The Interpretation of Dreams<\/span><\/i>, and <\/span>Three Essays of the Theory of Sexuality\u201d<\/span><\/i>. [6] He wanted his students to realize how revolutionary Freud\u2019s contribution to psychology was in the nineteenth century. [7] In <\/span>Spellbound<\/span><\/i>, Lieberman acknowledges Frued as discovering theories of the unconscious and providing a psychodynamic (ideas around \u201cpsychological forces\u201d) framework to analyze from.[8] Freud\u2019s work was groundbreaking in the area of psychoanalysis and provided a springboard for other theorists to work from. Albert Ellis states, \u201cFreud, without quite realizing it, was on to something potentially valuable in his transference theories.\u201d [9] Transference and countertransference are theories relating to how people project thoughts and feelings they have from one person to another. Freud has provided language and structure for thinking about personality, conscious and unconscious thinking, dream interpretation and methods for treating the mentally ill, leaving an indelible mark on our culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

Where Freud Falters<\/b><\/p>\n

I am able to smell the rotting flowers that Matt Petrusek describes in his You Tube, More Christ, Episode 107, October 17, 2023. Petrusek provides this vivid imagery of wilting and rotting cut flowers to illustrate how secularism is not working in our current culture. I believe Frued\u2019s views have contributed to this stench. \u201cFrued believed that the major psychological drives were sex, aggression, and pleasure seeking and this sexual energy and early childhood experiences- often influenced by (your) parents-shape your ego and personality.\u201d[10] If these are our main drives then is there anything to mitigate or override these primary enforcers in our life? I would argue that there are influencers apart from these drives and a parents influence. I empathize with the woman who accused the college Lacrosse players of rape. It might be assumed that she had a difficult childhood but does that permit her to lie and speak falsehood?<\/span><\/p>\n

Albert Ellis, a Rational Emotive Behavior Therapist, \u201calso agrees with the psychoanalytic theory that many thoughts, feelings and behaviors are automatic and unconscious.\u201d[11] But it is possible to show \u201cclients that most unconscious thoughts and feelings are just below the level of consciousness and not deeply hidden and repressed, as the psychoanalysts contend.\u201d[12] This has been my experience working with people in the clinical office. Aiding a client in what lies just below the level of consciousness takes a well-placed question and a clients receptivity to new insight. I appreciate what Jordan Peterson explains in his <\/span>12 Rules for Life<\/span><\/i> by distinguishing an idea from a fact. [13] Ideas are able to drive us to do things that are not good. Ultimately it is best to base life decisions on fact and not ideas. This is what was missing in the Durham Lacrosse team case.<\/span><\/p>\n

As a therapist it is important to withhold judgment when working with my clients but at what point is there fair warning or caution needed in my interventions? Frued would encourage his clients to freely associate which allows a person’s \u201cimaginations to run free.\u201d [14] Lieberman further describes this process: \u201cimages or thoughts that appear must be accepted as they are, without any conscious censoring or elaboration.\u201d [15] My argument is: when does this become dangerous? If images are accepted without conscious censoring or elaboration, at what point will my clients believe that these images are true, believable, or reliable? I would argue that we are all endowed with the ability to think critically, and this is what sets us apart in the animal kingdom. I agree with Petrusek when he says that we need to be careful that we do not get to the point where we \u201canesthetize our own critical philosopher.\u201d [16] I am glad that the Durham Lacrosse team was able to have their day in court and regain the value of due process.<\/span><\/p>\n

A Prescriptive<\/strong><\/p>\n

Matt Petrusek believes that the antidote to our over sexualized political ideology would be the Catholic tradition. I would like to listen to his lecture series and hear how he proposes further steps to a flourishing life. I would propose that people must become not only moral in their pursuits but also demonstrate perspicacity. We can come out of the shades of gray when we demonstrate \u201cpenetrating discernment and clarity of vision or intellect which provides deep understanding and insight.\u201d [17]\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1] Matt Petrusek, Wokeism- The Frankenstein of Political Ideologies (Lecture 1) 2006<\/span><\/p>\n

[2] You tube: Presumed Guilty: Due Process Lessons of the Duke Lacrosse Team June 9, 2014<\/span><\/p>\n

[3] You tube: Presumed Guilty: Due Process Lessons of the Duke Lacrosse Team, June 9,2014<\/span><\/p>\n

[4] You tube: Presumed Guilty: Due Process Lessons of the Duke Lacrosse Team, June 9,2014<\/span><\/p>\n

[5] Trueman, Carl R., <\/span>The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self <\/span><\/i>(Illinois: Crossway),2020, p.202<\/span><\/p>\n

[6] Yalom,irvin, <\/span>The Gift of Therapy: An Open Letter to a New Generation of Therapists and Their Patients,<\/span><\/i> (New York: Harpers and Collin)2002, p.219<\/span><\/p>\n

[7] Ibid. p.219<\/span><\/p>\n

[8] Lieberman, Daniel,<\/span> Spell Bound: Modern Science, Ancient Magic, and the Hidden Potential of the Unconscious Mind<\/span><\/i> p.15<\/span><\/p>\n

[9] Ellis, Albert, <\/span>Overcoming Resistance: A Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Integrated Approach,<\/span><\/i> (New York: Springer) 2002, p.246<\/span><\/p>\n

[10] Campbell, Keith W. The New Narcissism (Colorado: Sounds True) 2022, p.11<\/span><\/p>\n

[11] Ellis, Albert, <\/span>Overcoming Resistance: A Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy Integrated Approach,<\/span><\/i> (New York: Springer) 2002,\u00a0 p.245<\/span><\/p>\n

[12] Ibid. p.245<\/span><\/p>\n

[13] Peterson, Jordan, <\/span>12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos<\/span><\/i>, (Canada: Random House) p.195<\/span><\/p>\n

[14] Lieberman, Daniel Z. Spell Bound, (Dallas: BenBella Books)2018,\u00a0 p.254<\/span><\/p>\n

[15] Ibid.p.224<\/span><\/p>\n

[16] Wokeism, Petrusek The Frankenstein of Political Ideologies (Lecture 1) 2006<\/span><\/p>\n

[17]\u00a0 Perspicacity, Merriam-Webster https:\/\/www.merriam-webster,com<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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