The Nuances of the Human Psyche
Write 7 pages thesis on the topic the nuances of human psyche. Freud rightfully dissects the word ‘uncanny’ in great detail, citing the paucity of research on the subject and the existence of just one research paper by E. Jentsch, as admitted by him, into the aspect of the realm of human perceptions of the ‘uncanny’ events in life (Freud, 1985:340). According to him, ‘uncanny’ events are basically considered as evil, terrible and horrific as envisaged in the human psyche. The author has dissected the meaning of two German words, ‘Heimlich’ and ‘unheimlich’, and studied the relationship between the two to the point where they interpolate on each other’s literal meaning (Freud, 1985:341). ‘Heimlich’, according to Freud literally translates into what one considers, normal, or an animate/inanimate object/situation/place of familiarity with which one usually associates. Any departure from this ‘familiarity’ or ‘normal’ situation is considered as uncanny and transforms into the ‘unheimlich’ version of the perspective under which it is perceived. Freud illustrates the meaning of ‘uncanny’ by citing numerous fictional stories and anecdotes in real life which border on what is normally considered as supernatural. The main story through which the author depicts the irrational thoughts imprinted in the human mind is that of a young lad Nathanial, who in his impressionable years comes to associate an irrational fear of the hypothetical ‘Sandman’ who comes to haunt him on numerous life occasions’ in adult life as well (Freud, 1985:348). Nathanial develops an uncanny, irrational fear of the character up to such an extent that anybody whom he associates with the character of the ‘Sandman’ becomes a villain in his life.The human emotional state, according to Freud, is therefore subject to .the unconscious carrying over of irrational thoughts that may have been overcome through the process of education or personal reasoning. Any real-life event, which suggests the recurrence of the innately feared event, results in the strengthening of the belief in what is considered as ‘uncanny’. Even death, which scientists’ have established to be the inevitable truth, is seldom visualized in the unconscious by an average human being. The author believes that the religious school of thought is also established on the basis of the existence or fear of the ‘uncanny’ which is beyond human interpretative capability. .
