What do you think of this theory?

Question

Have you ever read Oedipus Rex? Its a play by Sophocles. In it there is a theory that children at a young age have feelings for the opposite sex. Like, if you are a little boy you will have sexual feelings for your mother and even violent feelings towards your father because he "has" your mother. Jim Morrison started chanting this during a concert once "F*ck the mother, kill the father" and his manager started freaking out.

What do you think about something like this? Crazy, isn't it?

Yes, I have affection for my parents...but I don't remember ever feeling anything sexual towards them.

No, I did not read Oedipus Rex nor did I say I did....I've just read about that particular thing in the play.

Answer 1

There is something to be said about the hypothesized Oedipus complex, but I'm not sure it's as much as Freud would like.

Though clearly, from the context of the Greek tragedy, the idea is not a new one, Freud was actually one of the first psychologists to argue it's universality. To Freud, it was a very literal struggle that started when a child was around five years of age: he (or she) would long for the sole, and even sexual attention of the mother, but would be held back by the fear of being literally castrated by the father. This would end up developing the superego, the moral sense inherent to all people which helps mitigate desires with what is appropriate and possible in society.

If you ask me (and a lot of other people), Freud not only went a little too far but also assumes that all cultures are the same.

Anyone who doubts a child can become jealous of the attention of a parent need only observe the behaviours of children of (hopefully unmarried) parents who are starting to date. Many such children enter a sort of attention crisis and develop fears of being neglected and ignored by what was formerly a nurturing parent, even if those fears are completely irrational. So the base idea has some legs, so to speak.

But literal fear of castration? Get real. At make matters worse, Freud argued that homosexuality was the result of missing a parent (either one could do it, according to Freud): the child never has an opportunity to resolve this Oedipus conflict, and so develops 'abnormal' preferences.

Of course, research on homosexuality has not even vaguely borne out Freud's latter claim, not to mention all the copious homosexuality which occurs in an animal kingdom that is supposedly free of higher-order psychological conflicts such as these. And in many families (especially these days) and other cultures it is the father who is the nurturer and the mother who is the disciplinarian... does this mean children go through a reverse Oedipus complex (can girls be afraid of losing their vaginas?)... or does it just mean that much of the theory is bunk?

I'll side with the latter view, myself. Family power plays almost undoubtedly shape adult behaviours, but even Freud would have to admit that sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Answer 2

Oedipus Complex... it comes from a Greek myth where Oedipus, the hero, kills his evil father\uncle.. and marries his mother. Of course, in the story, Oedipus did not know that he was killing his father and marrying his mother... because he had been separated from them at birth... he had no idea who he was... it's called poetic justice.

Anyways, I'm not sure what I think about it... I can see why it might happen, there are all kinds of problems in the world... but I don't think it's inherently natural for a child to develop sexual feelings for their parents... confusion, anger... maybe, but lust?
I think Freud was messed up anyways.

Answer 3

The Oedipus Theory.... further explored by Sigmund Freud.... simply states that at a certain age of childhood, the boy gravitates toward the mother and the girl toward the father.... not necessarily in a sexual way.......... now... if the son is denied the mother he may become fixated on a "mother figure" and have relationship problems as an adult....... the same for a daughter who is denied the father.

Answer 4

Thank God and goodness for physicians today in Neuro studies.
Yes it is a little unbalanced to say the least. But if you read on the history.com online you will see far more insane people amongst the Roman leaders, Greek, Israeli, (king Herod, edomite), Idi Amein current history a king in Africa that was a cannibal. Read the book "the inadequate male" and "the inadequate female", and Arthur Shoepehaur's "World as Will and Representation" and Sigmund Freud will have a numerous amount of knowledge about the edippus complexes. You will benefit from these books for your answer is not that simple it is more complex than one answer.

Answer 5

Yes, I have read Oedipus Rex.

In that play, when he learns he has "done" his mom and killed his father - thus fulfilling the prophecy - Oedipus is horrified, blinds himself, and begins a voluntary exile.

The Oedipus complex is misnamed. Oedipus the King had a normal aversion to incest and patricide, but could not escape fate.

Answer 6

You know it is utter nonsense and has been refuted by the Westermark effect for some time. The question to ask yourself when presented with this psychobabalistic nonsense, is; what would be the evolutionary fate of an organism that was subject to such a complex? People who do feel such are the outliers we make them for. Freud was raised by a wet nurse; so when he first saw his mother he was most likely not Westermark affected. Hoisted on his own petard, so to speak. Google " Westermark Effect ".

Answer 7

Oedipus killed his father and had children by his mother, but not KNOWINGLY. Yes, children identify with their parents and want their approval but it is not sexual as adults understand it. They identify with BOTH parents, its most obvious with the parent of the opposite sex. I DID read the play. I TEACH the play. When the oracle said he would kill his father and have children with his mother he RAN AWAY from the people who raised him, not knowing they were not his real parents because the idea so disgusted him.

Answer 8

I think its legitimate but we must keep in mind that Sophocles' society was sexually sick and twisted by our norms. Where public orgies took place, men taking young boys as "disciples" had sexual relations and so on. I believe the play explains that boys have more affection for their mom than their father, and I believe majority of girls favor their father to their mother.

Answer 9

first of all, Led Zeppelin rocks...i should say they rocked!!! second, i have heard about this complex and its called Oedipus Complex based on this theory i believe. i think its just one of the natural phases a person goes through like everything else. but when the boy grows up he moves on to someone else.

Cheers!!

Answer 10

Not really...when you consider that the first people most of us ever came to have affection for were our own parents....they were our "first loves" in a very REAL sense.
It's more than theory...it's pretty well proven fact in psychology. Sigmund Freud spoke of this a lot.