Even though Freud’s psychodynamic theories stressed the importance of the early stages of development, it was not until subsequent generations that his psychoanalysis techniques were first applied to children. Melanie Klein‘s work with very young kids led to ideas that contradict some of Freud’s assumptions, particularly about the early development of the superegos, which Klein believed is innate. Klein believed that psychosexual conflicts began in the earliest stages of life when infants’ sexual desires were centered on the satisfaction of oral gratification. Children’s interactions with their mothers at this age were decisive – children’s drives could be either part objects (the breasts) or whole objects (their mothers as persons). Powerful emotions arose when children recognized their mothers were not only nourishing organs but also people. Freud’s daughter Anna, another pioneer in child analysis, rejected Klein’s theories, supporting her father’s views and dividing Kleinian and Freudian methods.
Mind and brain
In many cultures around this world, there is the view that humans have a soul that exists independently of the physical body. For Greek philosophers, the soul was also viewed as the seat of our reasoning abilities - what we would call our minds today. While Aristotle...
