<p><strong>Introduction:</strong></p>

<p>It's fascinating how many of the key concepts of psychoanalysis are presented by metaphores of the ancient Greek mythology. One might wonder whether the Greek mythology is actually the whole psychoanalysis in disguise.</p>

<p>Some examples to remember are the myth of “Narcissus and Echo” (embodied in Freud's essay "On Narcissism"), the Oedipus and Electra complexes, the Icarus complex, the Medusa complex.</p>

<p><strong>Question:</strong></p>

<p>My question is, could the building blocks of psychoanalysis be derived from the mythologies of other peoples, as well?</p>

<p>(The same questions from another perspective: could we find corresponding myths in the mythologies of other cultures. E.g, is there an equivalent to the myth of “Narcissus and Echo” in the mythologies of other cultures?)</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-12T14:14:45.447Z
since this site considers psychoanalysis as pseudoscience, I think some will see this question as off-topic. But if we see it as a history question, I guess it's fine
Ooker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-12T16:07:22.447Z
Whilst [I am a defender of Freudian and Neo-Freudian psychology](https://psychology.meta.stackexchange.com/a/2248), please be aware that as @Ooker points out, this covers areas of psychology [considered by some here to be pseudoscientific](https://psychology.meta.stackexchange.com/q/2242) even though psychoanalytic therapy is still widely available. I have provided these links to allow you to find out more.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-12T17:10:46.277Z
I'm wondering if this question would be a better fit for hsm.SE...?
Arnon Weinberg
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-13T02:45:24.260Z
@Chris really appreciate how you can live with that in daily life, since the label pseudoscience is very bad? Anyway, I don't know think this site should consider pseudoscience as off-topic; a comment is suffice I think
Ooker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-13T02:47:29.187Z
@drabsv by "other people", do you mean "other ethnics besides Greek"?
Ooker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-13T06:56:20.233Z
@ArnonWeinberg - Whilst even in my mind it is borderline, I think this question may be still on-topic.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-13T07:00:16.333Z
@drabsv - I have been thinking about what Arnon and Ooker has said, and this question is definitely borderline.  Therefore, I would like to ask if you can please give some examples of Ancient Greek metaphors in use for us to particularly answer against and then we can better assess whether this question is on-topic or not.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-13T07:17:55.373Z
@Ooker - The problem, as highlighted in the meta post I linked, is that although **some** consider it pseudoscientific, there are still a large number of psychoanalytic and integrative therapists around.  Plus, considering there are recognised governing bodies in America and the UK for Psychoanalysis, cutting psychoanalysis from the list of topics would be a slippery slope of cutting a large number of therapists from this site, possibly leading to others on the other side of the spectrum.  As long as the question is about psychology within psychoanalysis, then it is on-topic.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-13T07:45:07.940Z
@ChrisRogers [Category:Complex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Complex_(psychology)) in Wikipedia lists many complex with Greek names. I think this is a good starting point.//This question embarks what I have been feeling about psychoanalysis: it is a collection metaphors. Conceptual metaphors is an important topic in cognitive linguistics, and I think there are research about viewing psychoanalysis in this lens. If anyone has an interest, maybe [Metaphors We Live By](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphors_We_Live_By) is a good start
Ooker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-13T07:50:55.630Z
Thinking about this, if the question is "could psychoanalysis be derived in a similar manner from the mythologies of other peoples?", then I don't think it's a question about history
Ooker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-13T07:55:38.793Z
@Ooker - Can you please let drabsv answer the question I put up?  This question was raised by drabsv and therefore it is for drabsv to provide the frame in which it is to be asked.  Maybe you could ask a separate question regarding the validity of certain complexes?
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-13T08:41:10.213Z
@ChrisRogers I just provide what I thought as useful to consider. I didn't mean to speak for them
Ooker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-16T11:58:35.067Z
@Ooker - I have spelled it "peoples" , not "people", to point out that I am referring to cultures, not individuals.
drabsv
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-16T11:59:33.880Z
@Chris Rogers - I added a few examples.
drabsv
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-23T22:11:07.660Z
You ask the question, _"One might wonder whether the Greek mythology is actually the whole psychoanalysis in the disguise"_, yet you seemingly move on assuming this to be true to ask another question, _"could the building blocks of psychoanalysis be derived from the mythologies of other peoples"_. It seems to me you are jumping the gun here. Perhaps you should ask first: **What is the relation between Greek mythology and concepts in psychoanalysis?** @Chris Would you be able to answer that?
Steven Jeuris
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-24T07:59:07.680Z
@ Steven Jeuris - by saying "One might wonder...", all I meant was to emphasize my amazement at the strong use of Greek mythology metaphores. Nothing else. I was not expressing it as a question (I have clearly labeled "Introduction" and "Question") and I was not assuming it to be true either - I have said "One might wonder" exactly to make it clear that I am expressing amazement and not assumption. Let's not get into over-details and put extra meaning where none has been meant. My question is exactly about the possibility to derive similar metaphores from mythologies of other cultures.
drabsv
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-24T08:16:30.797Z
Let me rephrase: you indicate you are unclear on why it is that psychoanalysis relies on names in Greek mythology. This implies there is a potential question there (albeit in disguise). I feel this is an important question to ask, prior to asking the current one, which indeed was very clearly delineated. You seem to have some reason to believe psychoanalysis can be derived from _other_ mythologies, indirectly implying it can be derived from _Greek mythology_. Perhaps I misunderstood. But if so, you are basing your question on an unsupported claim, which _would_ be worthwhile exploring first.
Steven Jeuris
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-24T08:20:25.993Z
Furthermore, this seems to imply you have no interest in knowing whether psychoanalysis can be derived from Greek mythology (you ask for _'other'_), even though this is your question title.
Steven Jeuris
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-24T17:40:29.390Z
@StevenJeuris I added an additional illustration to my question, to reflect your recent comments.
drabsv
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-24T21:35:50.503Z
@StevenJeuris - the question is based on the premise that psychoanalytical theories were based on Ancient Greek mythology, which anyone can draw comparisons with. The example at the end of the question is nothing to do with psychology or psychotherapy and the question seems to be moving away further.  I am leaning towards voting to close as off-topic for this reason.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-24T22:01:58.920Z
As pointed out, asking if psychoanalysis **is** linked to Ancient Greek mythology or other mythologies would be on topic but would need to be asked separately. Trying to compare the story of Narcissus and Echo to other myths is not on-topic as it has nothing to do with psychology and even if it was, it can be a matter of opinion.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-25T06:56:28.927Z
@StevenJeuris - After having a sleep on this question, I have voted to close this question as "not framed in psychology or neuroscience".  As pointed out in my last comment, trying to find similar myths to, for example Narcissus and Echo, in other mythologies is nothing to do with psychology.
Chris Rogers
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-25T12:56:30.873Z
If what you ask is basically like what @Chris says, then we have a whole SE site for mythology. I suppose we have a proper framework there to answer the question
Ooker
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-26T12:47:25.953Z
The ancient Greek mythology is more than a handful of myth which might have corresponding equivalents in other mythologies. It's a whole system of concepts and I would guess Freud had a reason for relying on it in particular. Being Austrian he could have resorted to the ancient German myths,for example, but he didn't. Therefore I suspect that the whole Greek mythology may have some potential of containing the basics of psychoanalysis and I am curious if any of the other mythologies could have the same potential.
drabsv
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-26T12:57:47.800Z
Therefore, this is a question relevant both to comparative mythology and psychoanalysis. An expert in comparative mythology would probably tell us which mythologies are closest to the Greek one, but asked if those are really suitable for deriving the concepts of psychoanalysis, then, I guess, he'd tell us to ask a psychologist.
drabsv
<psychoanalysis>
Psychoanalysis and its metaphores derived from ancient Greek mythology
drabsv
# Psychoanalysis and its metaphores derived from ancient Greek mythology

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-12)

**Introduction:**

It's fascinating how many of the key concepts of psychoanalysis are presented by metaphores of the ancient Greek mythology. One might wonder whether the Greek mythology is actually the whole psychoanalysis in disguise.

Some examples to remember are the myth of “Narcissus and Echo” (embodied in Freud's essay "On Narcissism"), the Oedipus and Electra complexes, the Icarus complex, the Medusa complex.

**Question:**

My question is, could the building blocks of psychoanalysis be derived from the mythologies of other peoples, as well?

(The same questions from another perspective: could we find corresponding myths in the mythologies of other cultures. E.g, is there an equivalent to the myth of “Narcissus and Echo” in the mythologies of other cultures?)

**Tags:** psychoanalysis

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: since this site considers psychoanalysis as pseudoscience, I think some will see this question as off-topic. But if we see it as a history question, I guess it's fine  
> **username_2**: Whilst [I am a defender of Freudian and Neo-Freudian psychology](https://psychology.meta.stackexchange.com/a/2248), please be aware that as @username_1 points out, this covers areas of psychology [considered by some here to be pseudoscientific](https://psychology.meta.stackexchange.com/q/2242) even though psychoanalytic therapy is still widely available. I have provided these links to allow you to find out more.  
> **username_3**: I'm wondering if this question would be a better fit for hsm.SE...?  
> **username_1**: @Chris really appreciate how you can live with that in daily life, since the label pseudoscience is very bad? Anyway, I don't know think this site should consider pseudoscience as off-topic; a comment is suffice I think  
> **username_1**: @username_0 by "other people", do you mean "other ethnics besides Greek"?  
> **username_2**: @ArnonWeinberg - Whilst even in my mind it is borderline, I think this question may be still on-topic.  
> **username_2**: @username_0 - I have been thinking about what Arnon and username_1 has said, and this question is definitely borderline.  Therefore, I would like to ask if you can please give some examples of Ancient Greek metaphors in use for us to particularly answer against and then we can better assess whether this question is on-topic or not.  
> **username_2**: @username_1 - The problem, as highlighted in the meta post I linked, is that although **some** consider it pseudoscientific, there are still a large number of psychoanalytic and integrative therapists around.  Plus, considering there are recognised governing bodies in America and the UK for Psychoanalysis, cutting psychoanalysis from the list of topics would be a slippery slope of cutting a large number of therapists from this site, possibly leading to others on the other side of the spectrum.  As long as the question is about psychology within psychoanalysis, then it is on-topic.  
> **username_1**: @ChrisRogers [Category:Complex](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Complex_(psychology)) in Wikipedia lists many complex with Greek names. I think this is a good starting point.//This question embarks what I have been feeling about psychoanalysis: it is a collection metaphors. Conceptual metaphors is an important topic in cognitive linguistics, and I think there are research about viewing psychoanalysis in this lens. If anyone has an interest, maybe [Metaphors We Live By](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaphors_We_Live_By) is a good start  
> **username_1**: Thinking about this, if the question is "could psychoanalysis be derived in a similar manner from the mythologies of other peoples?", then I don't think it's a question about history  
> **username_2**: @username_1 - Can you please let username_0 answer the question I put up?  This question was raised by username_0 and therefore it is for username_0 to provide the frame in which it is to be asked.  Maybe you could ask a separate question regarding the validity of certain complexes?  
> **username_1**: @ChrisRogers I just provide what I thought as useful to consider. I didn't mean to speak for them  
> **username_0**: @username_1 - I have spelled it "peoples" , not "people", to point out that I am referring to cultures, not individuals.  
> **username_0**: @username_2 - I added a few examples.  
> **username_4**: You ask the question, _"One might wonder whether the Greek mythology is actually the whole psychoanalysis in the disguise"_, yet you seemingly move on assuming this to be true to ask another question, _"could the building blocks of psychoanalysis be derived from the mythologies of other peoples"_. It seems to me you are jumping the gun here. Perhaps you should ask first: **What is the relation between Greek mythology and concepts in psychoanalysis?** @Chris Would you be able to answer that?  
> **username_0**: @ username_4 - by saying "One might wonder...", all I meant was to emphasize my amazement at the strong use of Greek mythology metaphores. Nothing else. I was not expressing it as a question (I have clearly labeled "Introduction" and "Question") and I was not assuming it to be true either - I have said "One might wonder" exactly to make it clear that I am expressing amazement and not assumption. Let's not get into over-details and put extra meaning where none has been meant. My question is exactly about the possibility to derive similar metaphores from mythologies of other cultures.  
> **username_4**: Let me rephrase: you indicate you are unclear on why it is that psychoanalysis relies on names in Greek mythology. This implies there is a potential question there (albeit in disguise). I feel this is an important question to ask, prior to asking the current one, which indeed was very clearly delineated. You seem to have some reason to believe psychoanalysis can be derived from _other_ mythologies, indirectly implying it can be derived from _Greek mythology_. Perhaps I misunderstood. But if so, you are basing your question on an unsupported claim, which _would_ be worthwhile exploring first.  
> **username_4**: Furthermore, this seems to imply you have no interest in knowing whether psychoanalysis can be derived from Greek mythology (you ask for _'other'_), even though this is your question title.  
> **username_0**: @StevenJeuris I added an additional illustration to my question, to reflect your recent comments.  
> **username_2**: @StevenJeuris - the question is based on the premise that psychoanalytical theories were based on Ancient Greek mythology, which anyone can draw comparisons with. The example at the end of the question is nothing to do with psychology or psychotherapy and the question seems to be moving away further.  I am leaning towards voting to close as off-topic for this reason.  
> **username_2**: As pointed out, asking if psychoanalysis **is** linked to Ancient Greek mythology or other mythologies would be on topic but would need to be asked separately. Trying to compare the story of Narcissus and Echo to other myths is not on-topic as it has nothing to do with psychology and even if it was, it can be a matter of opinion.  
> **username_2**: @StevenJeuris - After having a sleep on this question, I have voted to close this question as "not framed in psychology or neuroscience".  As pointed out in my last comment, trying to find similar myths to, for example Narcissus and Echo, in other mythologies is nothing to do with psychology.  
> **username_1**: If what you ask is basically like what @Chris says, then we have a whole SE site for mythology. I suppose we have a proper framework there to answer the question  
> **username_0**: The ancient Greek mythology is more than a handful of myth which might have corresponding equivalents in other mythologies. It's a whole system of concepts and I would guess Freud had a reason for relying on it in particular. Being Austrian he could have resorted to the ancient German myths,for example, but he didn't. Therefore I suspect that the whole Greek mythology may have some potential of containing the basics of psychoanalysis and I am curious if any of the other mythologies could have the same potential.  
> **username_0**: Therefore, this is a question relevant both to comparative mythology and psychoanalysis. An expert in comparative mythology would probably tell us which mythologies are closest to the Greek one, but asked if those are really suitable for deriving the concepts of psychoanalysis, then, I guess, he'd tell us to ask a psychologist.  

---

## 0 answers

