How did the changing Zeitgeist in social science influence the later development of psychoanalysis?
The 19th century science had a great impact on Freud. He was greatly influenced by its positivistic and mechanical outlook. However, by the end of the century, many ways were discovered by different disciplines, to view the human nature. These perspectives were studied beyond the biological boundaries. Researches were made in the field of social psychology, anthropology and sociology.
As a result, it was understood that the humans are not merely the products of biology, but their nature is shaped by the institutions and the social forces; hence, the study of humans should not be done only in biological terms but, also in social terms. The anthropologists initiated their observation on various cultures, public; soon it was observed that the Freud’s views on some taboos and neurotic symptoms were not generalized.
For example, all the cultures do not prohibit incest. The social psychologists and sociologists also observed that the human nature is conditioned by the social forces and not alone by the biological satisfactions. Thus, a revised concept to study the human nature was called upon by Zeitgeist; however, Freud was confined only to the biological origin of personality.
The younger disciplines were not bounded to the orthodox thoughts and hence, they parted away and discovered the social science thought of reshaping the Freudian theory. They perceived the human behavior to be conditioned by environment and this thought went well along with the American culture. Two scientists who worked separately in this respect were Karen Horney and Alfred Adler. They proposed that human nature is mainly shaped by the environmental forces faced by an individual, especially during childhood.