Talk:Sigmund Freud

Public relations

This section should be deleted as it is essentially a stub of an article on another person. Its content should be replaced by a link to other pages in wiki that detail it. Although his nephew's work might be a matter of interest it is no more pertinent to Freud, and perhaps even less so, than the work and interests of his other relations, all of whose claims to notability must surely stand on their own merits, no matter how they might or might not have been influenced by him. As alluded to above under Family Tree http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Sigmund_Freud#Family_Tree the article could perhaps benefit from a small section placed under Early Life, providing the links to other family members and the pages that relate. LookingGlass (talk) 10:33, 20 October 2011 (UTC)

I think the material is pertinent to Freud, but only indirectly. It's not really crucial material for this article, and I have no special objection if you want to delete it. Polisher of Cobwebs (talk) 00:46, 21 October 2011 (UTC)

In popular culture

Depictions in media should be inserted, like that made by the character played by de Niro in Analyze This.--86.125.191.182 (talk) 11:18, 25 November 2011 (UTC)

That would need a source. And I'm frankly not sure that a popular culture section would be a good idea anyway; it might be better to simply link relevant items in the see also section - which is what I have done. Polisher of Cobwebs (talk) 21:08, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

Freud's marriage

I've just reverted an addition to the article by Adishwiki. The addition began, "In April, 1882, after a day’s work at the Vienna Institute of Physiology, a young Freud returned home to find Martha Bernays peeling an apple and chatting with his family at the family table. He immediately felt compelled to court her. Whereas before he rushed to his room upon his arrival, he now decided to join the table to talk to everyone. Every day after this, Freud sent Martha a rose with a sweet note attached to it. Two months later, during dinner with the family, Martha pressed Freud’s hand under the table, and after four days, they were engaged." In my opinion, that's a clear case of WP:UNDUE weight - the kind of detail that simply doesn't belong in an encyclopedia article. The style of writing also seems sentimental and inappropriate. I am a little sorry to have to simply revert Adishwiki's contribution, because I do think that there is some material in their edit that might usefully be added to the article, but it would have be carefully looked at to determine what material should go in and what should stay out. Polisher of Cobwebs (talk) 21:11, 29 November 2011 (UTC)

Libido and Sexual Drive

As defined by Jung, libido is the primary motivational force of human life, not sexual drive. Libido is the total energy of the psyche. It is life energy and contains many parts, including the sexual drive. Sexual drive is just the sexual drive, it is contained in the libido.

From the Freudian Theory of Hysteria(1908) by Carl Jung page 18: When Freud speaks of sexuality, it must not be understood merely as the sexual instinct. Another concept which Freud uses in a very wide sense is "libido." This concept, originally borrowed from "libido sexualis," denotes in the first place the sexual components of psychic life so far as they are volitional, and then any inordinate passion or desire.

This is what is being changed(the second paragraph, first sentence):

Freud postulated that sexual drives are the primary motivational force of human life

And it is being changed to:

Freud postulated that the libido is the primary motivational force of human life

Peoplez1k (talk) 17:11, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

That is an accurate quotation from Jung's The Freudian Theory of Hysteria, but I think Jung should be treated with some caution as an interpreter of Freud. In any case, I don't think Jung supports the claim that Freud saw "libido as the primary motivational force of human life" - that's not what the quotation actually says. Neither the claim that Freud saw "sexual drives" as the primary motivational force of human life nor the claim that he saw "libido" that way is properly sourced, so probably neither claim should appear in the lead. Polisher of Cobwebs (talk) 18:12, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

I note that the claim that Freud saw "libido" as the primary motivational force of human life doesn't appear in Charles Rycroft's entry on the subject in A Critical Dictionary of Psychoanalysis. Do you have a source that says that Freud saw libido that way, using those actual words? Polisher of Cobwebs (talk) 18:21, 19 December 2011 (UTC)

Middle name

Is there any source/evidence that his middle name was Schlomo? There are sources showing his Hebrew name (used for Jewish religious purposes) was Shlomo be Yaakov but that is not the same thing as a secular (governmentally registered) middle name... (Rider In The Storm (talk) 15:50, 2 February 2012 (UTC))