Farod Hayes
11-2-16
PBA 1
Are you really in control, or is your every decision predetermined? Who’s truly at the steering wheel: you, genetics, fate, free will, karma, God, your upbringing? In 2012, four scientists conducted an experiment on free will, fate, and similar concept. In doing so, they were able to come to the conclusion that free will is merely an illusion. They argued that human behavior is governed by the brain, which is controlled by each person’s genetic blueprint built upon the life experiences of that person. An evolutionary biologist named Jerry Coyne defined free will as the possibility that, after a decision, you could have chosen otherwise. While the three other scientists concurred with Coyne, that will is as free as lunch and to just try willing yourself out of love, anger etc. Though everyone must be held accountable for his or her actions, neuroscience and the nonexistence of free will should be factored into some criminal cases, the scholars argued. Coyne continues his argument, claiming that a decision is merely a series of electrical and chemical impulses betweenmolecules in the brain— molecules whose configuration is predetermined by genes and environment. Though each decision is the outcome of an immensely complicated series of chemical reactions, those reactions are governed by the laws of physics and could not possibly turn out differently. "Like the output of a programmed computer, only one choice is ever physically possible: the one you made.’’ So essentially, free will and fate are conflicts of the chemical and molecular structure of the brain, the world, and often times religion.The patient, Oedipus suffers from the complexities of both free will and fate, and his actions are often times conflicted by these neurological aspects. The play, Oedipus the King, completely exemplifies the free will and fate complexities of the mind, in relation to the world and society.
For example, pages 341-347 poses a conflicting conversation between Tiresias and Oedipus as it states, in quote,’’ Tiresias: Well, it come what will, though I be mute. Oedipus: Since come it must, thy duty is to tell me. Tiresias: I have no more to say; storm as thou wiltst, and give the rein to all thy pent-up rage.’’(341-341) Tiresias insists that, regardless of what he says or does, fate will surely play itself out. Pages 444-461 specially states, in quote, ‘’Tiresias: I go, but first will tell thee why I came. Thy frown I dread not, for thou canst not harm me. Hear then: this man whom thou hast sought to arrest. With threats and warrants this long while, the wretch who murdered Laius—that man is here. He passes for an alien in the land but soon shall prove a Theban, native born. And yet his fortune brings him little joy; for blind of seeing, clad in beggar's weeds, for purple robes, and leaning on his staff, to a strange land he soon shall grope his way. And of the children, inmates of his home, He shall be proved the brother and the sire, of her who bare him son and husband both, co-partner, and assassin of his sire. Go in and ponder this, and if thou find that I have missed the mark, henceforth declare. I have no wit nor skill in prophecy.‘’ (441-461)Tiresias expresses his strong confidence in his ability to prophesy. While Oedipus wavers in his will, Tiresias stands very firm. This represents the strength of fate on the relative weakness of man.
Pages 1077-1086 states , in quote, ‘’ Oedipus: Let the storm burst, my fixed resolve still holds, To learn my lineage, be it ne'er so low. It may be she with all a woman's pride Thinks scorn of my base parentage. But I who rank myself as Fortune's favorite child, the giver of good gifts, shall not be shamed. She is my mother and the changing moons my brethren, and with them I wax and wane. Thus sprung why should I fear to trace my birth? Nothing can make me other than I am.‘’(1077-1086) While Oedipus’s fate of killing his father (King Laius) and sleeping with his mother (Queen Jocasta) is sealed, he only learns that he has fulfilled his fate through persistent and extremely adamant searching. Therefore, it is his own fault (free will) that the tragedy is discovered, rather than the work of fate. Pages 107-110 states, in quote,’’ Oedipus: Where are they? Where in the wide world to find the far, faint traces of a bygone crime? Creon: In this land, said the god; "who seeks shall find; who sits with folded hands or sleeps is blind."(107-110)
Creon explains that if Oedipus seeks knowledge of the crime, he will find it. Creon speaks with a certainty here that is fateful in its confidence.
Pages 380-404 states, in quote, ‘’ Oedipus: O wealth and empiry and skill by skill outwitted in the battlefield of life, what spite and envy follow in your train! See, for this crown the State conferred on me. A gift, a thing I sought not, for this crown the trusty Creon, my familiar friend, hath lain in wait to oust me and suborned this mountebank, this juggling charlatan, this tricksy beggar-priest, for gain alone keen-eyed, but in his proper art stone-blind. Say, sirrah, hast thou ever proved thyself a prophet? When the riddling Sphinx was here why hadst thou no deliverance for this folk? And yet the riddle was not to be solved By guess-work but required the prophet's art; Wherein thou was found lacking; neither birds Nor sign from heaven helped thee, but _I_ came, The simple Oedipus; _I_ stopped her mouth by mother wit, untaught of auguries. This is the man whom thou wouldst undermine, in hope to reign with Creon in my stead. Methinks that thou and thine abettor soon will rue your plot to drive the scapegoat out. Thank thy grey hairs that thou hast still to learn what chastisement such arrogance deserves. ‘’ (380-404)
Oedipus accuses Tiresias of having insufficient knowledge to solve the Sphinx’s riddle and applauds himself for having the necessary insight. Oedipus’s own knowledge is clearly a source of pride for him (tragic flaw), ironic given that it is the ultimate cause of his downfall (tragic hero archetype).
Pages 791-797 states, in quote,’’ Oedipus: To Delphi, and Apollo sent me back baulked of the knowledge that I came to seek. But other grievous things he prophesied, woes, lamentations, mourning, and portents dire; to wit I should defile my mother's bed and raise up seed too loathsome to behold, and slay the father from whose loins I sprang. ‘’ (791-797)Oedipus’s pursuit of knowledge leads him to the unfortunate realization of his fate. This is the cause of his downfall, not his fate itself (free will).
Theseviewsheavily differentiate among the theories of psychology and their often times quite outlandish approaches. Sigmund Freud proposed some of the most out rightly controversial approaches to psychology that history has ever seen. Among his most notable theories, are the Oedipus complex, Defense Mechanisms, The Unconscious Mind, Dream Analysis, and the Psyche theory. The patient, Oedipus, severely suffers from both the repression and denial elements of Defense Mechanisms, the Oedipus complex, as well as the remaining three key theories.
Oedipus' demonstration of defense mechanisms has affected him, both internally and externally. Having analyzed various chapters of Oedipus the King and Freud’s psychological theory regarding defense mechanisms,Oedipus best displays the denial and repression defense mechanisms. Ancient Greeks cared very deeply about the pursuit of knowledge. Although the truth was often terrifying, they saw it as a critical virtue. Sophocles uses the character transformation of Oedipus, throughout the plot, to highlight the theme of Oedipus the King. As Oedipuslearns moreincriminating self -knowledge, he changes from an extremely prideful , heroic king at thecommencement of the play, to a complete and utter tyrant in denial in the middle of the play , to a fearful, confused , and condemned man , humbled by his tragic , fatal flaw by the conclusion of the play.His denial only grows as he begins to serve the new riddles of Laius's death. A growing paranoia grips Oedipus when Jocasta recounts the cripplingstory of Laius's murder, leading Oedipus to question his own past actions. Yet Oedipus is not quick to blame himself for the plague of the city , as he tries to place blame on others as he continues his investigation , blindly trusting his own superior ability while ignoring the damaging evidence that constantly surrounds him. For example, when Tiresias accuses Oedipus of actually being the murder and quite similarly when he blames Creon of treason and conspiracy. In this way, Oedipus is choosing to attack the messenger, while disregarding the essential message.
This all relates to Freud's theory on defense mechanisms. Freud's theory on the denial defense mechanism is described asthe action of blocking external events from awareness. If a situation is too difficult or too much to handle, the person just refuses to undergo them. After being wildly accused and insulted by Tiresias, Oedipus is completely driven into theory. Oedipus proceeds to concoct a story that both Creon and Tiresias are conspiring against him. Oedipus is demonstrating this defense mechanism by blocking out the event of his father’s brutal slaying more than twenty years prior.He is refusing to admit to themselves that he could have had any connection to the murder in which he so desperately seeks answers to. Even towards the end of the play when the truth is revealed about the murder, the incest, and the entire prophecy, Oedipus is still refusing to admit to himself that everything he haddenied and shielded himself from for such along time,was actually the truth. He was utterly overwhelmed by the whole ordeal of the prophecy and the true meaning of the situation at hand.Oedipus also demonstrates Freud’s theory on the repression mechanism throughout the play. During the play, complex and outlandish thoughts on incest, past actions/experiences, andOedipus's genetic origin are heavily repressed as Oedipus refuses to face these experiences, thoughts and so on.
Oedipus's story throughout the entirety of the play shares a very interesting and complex relationship with Freud’s theory on defense mechanisms. As Oedipus constantly demonstrates different elements of the six defense mechanisms, specifically denial and repression. He constantly attempts to ignore and block out incriminating events, at all cost.Those situations are too intense to handle, so Oedipus refuses to experience them. This ultimately shapes the transformation of Oedipus's character throughout the duration of the play, resulting in the tragic downfall of hisstory that wasunavoidably doomed from the start. His tragic fate was inevitable, ashe had to fulfill his prophecy that was unfortunately given to him.
The patient, Oedipus also critically struggles with Freud’s theory known as the Oedipus complex. Garnered by the play Oedipus Rex, the Oedipus complex is a psychoanalytic theory, a desire for sexual involvement with the parent of the opposite sex and a concomitant sense of rivalry with the parent of the same sex; a crucial stage in the normal developmental process. Sigmund Freud introduced the concept in his Interpretation of Dreams.This theory is based upon the experiences that Oedipus faced throughout the book since the inception of his fate was stated in the oracle. The oracle stated that Oedipus was undoubtedly to marry and be sexually involved with his mother (abnormal conflict with the parent of the opposite sex) and kill his father (rivalry with parent of the same sex).
The patient, Oedipus also suffers from The Unconscious Mind theory. The Unconscious Mind theory statesthatthe mind is divided into the conscious mind (or the ego) and the unconsciousmind. Later was then further divided into the id (or instincts and drive) and the superego (or conscience). In this theory, the unconscious refers to the mental processes of which individuals make themselves unaware.For example, Freud found that some events and desires were often too frightening or painful for his patients to acknowledge, and believed such information was locked away in the unconscious mind. The end goal of this psychoanalysis is to essentially make the unconscious mind conscious. This can happen through the process of repression.Pages 1068-1073 states, in quote, ‘’ Jocasta: Ah mayst thou ne'er discover who thou art! Oedipus: Go, fetch me here the herd, and leave yon woman to glory in her pride of ancestry. Jocasta: O woe is thee, poor wretch! With that last word I leave thee, henceforth silent evermore.’’ (1068-1073) Jocasta, aware that it will only hurt him, warns Oedipus to stop seeking knowledge. As the audience or reader, we wonder whether or not she would be willing to continue living as they are, if Oedipus were kept ignorant and unknowledgeable. Oedipus is desperately attempting to make his unconscious mind conscious by seeking more knowledge of his life (free will) and ultimately walking directly into is inevitable fate.
The patient, Oedipus also suffers from the Dream Analysis theory. The Dream Analysis theory
considered dreams to be the royal road to the unconscious as it is in dreams that the ego's defenses are lowered so that some of the repressed material comes through to awareness, albeit in distorted form. Dreams perform important functions for the unconscious mind and serve as valuable clues to how the unconscious mind operates.The visions that Tiresias, the blind prophet, receives are all knowing and foresee all things that will surely come to past. His visions help Oedipus ultimately receive the knowledge that he so willingly seeks. As stated above, Oedipus and Tiresias often times have conflicting conversations, mostly involving Oedipus challenging the incomparable knowledge of Tiresias vs. his own personal beliefs which are often times trivial and lacks practical thought.
Lastly, the patient also suffers from the psyche theory. The Psyche theory consist of three key parts of the psychic apparatus(Id, ego, and super-ego )in Sigmund Freud's structural model of the psyche; they are the three theoretical constructs in terms of whose activity and interaction our mental life is described.Oedipus struggles with all three parts of the psychic apparatus, as he has a consistent identity crisis throughout the entire play. He is unknowingly seeking his true identity, constantly throughout the play. He also has issues with both his ego, and super-ego. The ego develops in order to mediate between the unrealistic id and the external real world. It is the decision making component of personality. Ideally the ego works by reason, whereas the id is chaotic and totally unreasonable.Oedipus lacks in this category. Oedipus is excessively prideful and far too ignorant to both the internal and external world (within himself and in the world), and this often times conflicts his decisions and or choices to numerous approaches of life. The final stage of the Psyche Theory states that the superego incorporates the values and morals of society which are learned from one's parents and others. It develops around the ageof 3 -5 during the phallic stage of psychosexualdevelopment.
Furthermore, the essential function of the super-ego is to control the id's impulses, especially those which society forbids, such as sex and aggression. In Oedipus the King, committing incest and exhibiting aggression through murder (murder of Laius) is depicted. Due to the super-egos interdependency with identity (super-ego controls identity’s impulses), super-ego is highly overlooked and disregarded because of the absence of Oedipus’s true identity, until the conclusion of the play. It also has the function of persuading the ego to turn to moralistic goals rather than simply realistic ones and to strive for perfection.The superego consists of two systems: The conscience and the ideal self. The conscience can punish the ego through causing feelings of guilt. For example, if the ego gives in to the id's demands, the superego may make the person feel bad through guilt. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus blinds himself after learning his fate and that the life that he lived was disgustingly sinful. Remember, Oedipus’s tragic flaw is pride. When he discovers that he has, in fact, killed his father, Laius, and married his mother, the trembling news causes him great anguish and that yearning to relieve this emotion and punish himself leads him to blind himself. It also fulfills the prophecy. Blinding himself shows his new humility as well, he acknowledges that he is a limited human being, subject to fate. His blindness is yet another irony in the play, when Oedipus had physical eyesight he couldn't perceive his circumstances the way he now can when blind.
Through his physical blindness, he acknowledges he no longer thinks of himself as invincible. This is a simple irrational response to learning the truth about himself and the life he has lived (free will). He suffers a temporary insanity when he learns the truth. He also does this is out of guilt. Oedipus feels inconceivable guilt over what he has done. He takes his eyes out as a form of self-punishment. Oedipus also puts out his eyes so he will never have to look upon his family and his people again. He doesn't want to see the emotions on their faces as they process the truth. He doesn't want to see what will become of his children now that the people know the truth. For a mere moment in time, Oedipus has an ounce of humility and selflessness. However, he still decides on an alternative punishment other than suicide. Perhaps he feels as though he is too good for death, unlike Jocasta. It would have been an easy route to escape the guilt and the shame. By living the rest of his life blind in exile, he will punish himself for his terrible crimes. This all relates to the super-ego element of Freud’s Psyche Theory.