Philosophy of Humanity

Philosophy of Psychology (Psychological Theory)

Depth Psychology

Depth psychology refers to several psychological schools that focus on delving into the human unconscious and studying its workings. Sigmund Freud was the first to bring the problem of the unconscious to the forefront of psychological thought, achieving a profound revolution in the field.

The pioneer of depth psychology is psychoanalysis, founded by the Austrian psychiatrist Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Freud noted that human behavior is driven not only by conscious processes but also by the unconscious. He divided the mental sphere into three levels: the conscious or Ego (Latin: Ego, German: Ich), which encompasses everything a person is aware of and can reflect upon; the preconscious or Super-Ego (Latin: Super-Ego, German: Über-Ich), representing social and cultural norms of behavior; and the unconscious or Id (Latin: Id, German: Es), comprising all influences on behavior that a person is unaware of. The interplay among these three realms defines human mental life. The Super-Ego imposes strict norms that restrict the freedom of action. Under the pressure of the Super-Ego, a person cannot fully express their natural impulses but cannot rid themselves of them either. Thus, these impulses are repressed into the unconscious.

The primary human drive is survival, expressed through two instincts: the sexual instinct (libido), which drives reproduction and thus ensures the survival of the species, and the instinct for self-preservation or fear of death, which ensures the survival of the individual. Since the fear of death dominates the libido, the Super-Ego imposes norms that restrict the libido. Unable to be expressed directly due to these restrictions, the libido is sublimated. Freud understood sublimation as the channeling of the libido into socially acceptable expressions. The fruits of sublimation are seen in human culture with all its manifestations. For instance, Freud considered the family as a means of realizing the libido, albeit within various cultural and social taboos.

Constrained by social norms, the libido seeks expression despite these restrictions. Unable to manifest directly, it erupts through unconscious or pathological expressions, such as dreams, slips of the tongue, errors, or even neuroses and mental disorders. Freud believed that these unconscious or pathological eruptions reveal what a person deeply desires but cannot articulate. The struggle between libido and the fear of death is the cause of numerous complexes that Freud analyzed in detail.

Building on these theoretical foundations, Freud developed practical methods of psychoanalysis. To address mental issues, it is necessary to uncover their origins in the unconscious and bring them into the realm of consciousness. Only through this awareness can individuals resolve their deep-seated problems.

Freud's major contribution was the discovery of the unconscious, which became the cornerstone of depth psychology. Other psychologists adopted Freud's idea of the unconscious, agreeing on its pivotal role in human behavior and perception of the world. However, while Freud viewed the libido (sexual instinct) as the primary force in the unconscious, constrained by fear of death and culture, the founders of other depth psychology approaches disagreed with him on the nature of the unconscious, substituting the libido with other categories.

One such approach is analytical psychology, founded by Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung (1875-1961). Jung introduced the concept of the collective unconscious, positing that the unconscious is not merely an individual phenomenon but a collective one. Over millennia, humans have accumulated experiences that aid their survival and navigation in the world. This experience is passed down through generations, enriched with new insights and transmitted to the next. Jung termed the elements of the collective unconscious archetypes. Each person perceives the world through the lens of these archetypes, often without awareness of it. Jung focused on universal archetypes, those inherent to all humanity.

Individual psychology is another depth psychology approach, founded by Austrian scholar Alfred Adler (1870-1937). The term "individual psychology" derives from the Latin individuum (indivisible), reflecting Adler's belief in the indivisibility and wholeness of the human psyche, thus avoiding the division of consciousness and the unconscious into separate parts. Adler proposed that fundamental patterns of human behavior are established in childhood. Children, feeling limited compared to adults—unable to walk, speak, or possess the strength of an adult—develop a sense of inferiority. Throughout life, individuals strive to compensate for this inferiority complex by asserting their power. As children depend on adults, they seek to make others dependent on them in adulthood. This feeling is particularly acute in individuals who retain traits that caused feelings of inferiority in childhood, such as being of short stature. In everyday language, the verbs "to grow up" and "to grow" are used synonymously, implying that an ungrown person is not an adult. Consequently, shorter individuals often experience more pronounced inferiority complexes and exhibit greater power-driven behaviors as a means of overcoming these feelings. Many dictators, such as Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, and Putin, were of short stature. Society must foster a sense of social interest in individuals—skills to set societal goals and unite in communities to achieve them. A healthy social interest should socialize individuals, replacing their drive for power. Symptoms of underdeveloped social interest include crime, drug addiction, and mental issues.

German philosopher and Frankfurt School representative Herbert Marcuse (1898-1979) published "Eros and Civilization: A Philosophical Inquiry into Freud" in 1955. In this work, Marcuse attempted to integrate Sigmund Freud’s ideas, which attributed psychological problems to repressed sexual instincts, with Karl Marx’s call for revolutionary action by the oppressed classes to claim their rights. By combining these ideas, Marcuse advocated for the libido’s struggle for freedom, contributing to the sexual revolution, which aimed to dismantle all moral and cultural constraints on sexuality.

Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957), born in Galicia (Dobryanychi village, Lviv region), spent his childhood in Bukovina, moved to Vienna where he was Freud’s pupil, later became a staunch communist, but was expelled from the party. He moved to America, where he lived until his death. Reich argued that a life energy, which he termed "orgone," pervades the world. This energy manifests in humans through the sexual instinct, which is repressed by culture. Reich believed that culture is a means of suppressing individuals and their instincts, rather than a development environment. He claimed it should be discarded. Reich’s orgone theory was deemed unscientific, his research center was closed, and he was imprisoned, dying of a heart attack. Despite this, Reich’s ideas on liberating sexuality from cultural and moral repression had a significant impact, providing ideological support for the sexual revolution and leading to moral decline and the erosion of cultural heritage.

Karen Horney (1885-1952), a psychologist who migrated from Germany to the USA, offered her revisions to Freud’s depth psychology. Horney posited that neuroses stem from the destruction of social relationships. Individuals who fail to build healthy relationships with their surroundings risk becoming neurotic. Horney identified ten neurotic needs: 1) the need for approval from others, 2) fear of being abandoned by loved ones, 3) self-limitation within narrow confines, 4) the need to acquire power, such as authority, money, or physical attributes, 5) the desire to exploit others, 6) the quest for prestige, 7) the longing to be admired, 8) ambitions regarding personal achievements, 9) the desire for independence from others, and 10) the wish to be flawless.

One of the most influential strands of depth psychology is humanistic psychoanalysis, founded by the German-American psychologist Erich Fromm (1900-1980), who combined psychoanalysis with existentialism. Influenced by existentialism, Fromm argued that humans emerge into the world without predetermined essence. The essence of a person is defined throughout their life. This lack of predetermined essence grants freedom but also necessitates self-definition. People fear self-definition and prefer others to make choices for them. To shift responsibility, individuals integrate into society. The tension between the desire for freedom and the simultaneous fear of responsibility is a defining factor in both personal psychological life and human history. Fromm believed that both the Reformation and Nazism were escapes from freedom. Catholicism offers individuals the freedom of self-definition—one determines their afterlife based on their conduct: if righteous, salvation is granted; if sinful, punishment follows. This freedom compels independent choices, which are challenging. Early Protestantism (Lutheranism and Calvinism), on the other hand, asserts that God has predetermined one's afterlife. Thus, individuals lose the necessity for self-definition but also relieve the anxiety stemming from freedom. The same applies to Nazism: submitting to a dictator means relinquishing freedom while also absolving oneself of responsibility for decisions.