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Criticism Of Sigmund Freud's Totem And Taboo

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After colonization of various indigenous societies around the world, efforts were made by various anthropologists, ethnographers and psychologists to study and observe the ways these indigenous societies operate. For understanding the customs, cultures and unique ways of these people studying their mental activities or development was regarded as a ground breaking revelation. The book titled “Totem and Taboo” is result of such an inquiry of the primitive mind. It is an English translation of few articles from its German origin which was first published in the journal Imago in 1913 depicting Sigmund Freud's interpretation of a number of ethnic phenomena in light of Psychoanalysis centring around the lives and customs of primitive people and the ‘savages’ form around the world, like Australia, New Zealand, Africa and so on. In this book Freud attempts to interpret the culture, ethics and religion in light of psychoanalysis. This particular work of Freud has been noticed by anthropologists, the vogue of the psychoanalytic movement founded by him is now so strong that the book is certain to make an impression in many intelligent circles. As a theory, psychoanalysis is strongly states that individuals are unaware of the many factors which lie in their unconscious mind that cause some behaviour and emotions. These …show more content…

Critics dispute many aspects of psychoanalysis including whether or not it is indeed a science; the value of the data upon which Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, based his theories; and the method and effectiveness of psychoanalytic treatment. There has been much criticism as well as praise regarding psychoanalysis over the years, but a hard look at both the positive and negative feedback of critics of psychoanalysis shows, in my opinion, that psychoanalysis is indeed a "great idea" in personality that should not be

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