Jung, Gardner, and Freud Comparison

In today’s society, education is more liberal, allowing people to think for themselves and providing them with a broader education. This differs from many years ago, when education was more conservative. Education was very basic, consisting of only academic classes and no electives. People with a more conservative education would never go against what they were taught. However, liberally educated people of today can go against what they are taught, research it themselves, and make new conclusions about their studies. A liberal education enables people to deal with the forces that control their life. It frees them from the restraints in everyday life. Having such a broad education allows people to deal with such forces. Four psychologists have written essays and constructed theories that can agree that liberal education is of a greater stature than conservatively educated. The essays are “The Theory of Multiple Intelligences,” written by Howard Gardner, “The Personal and Collective Unconscious,” written by Carl Jung, “The Allegory of the Cave,” written by Plato, and “From the Interpretation of Dreams,” written by Sigmund Freud.

In Howard Gardner’s “Theory of Multiple Intelligences” he states that there are seven different kinds of intelligence. He alludes that everyone has the potential to be intelligent in an unconventional way. Gardner writes, “The question of the optimal definition of intelligence looms large in our inquiry. Indeed it is at the level of this definition that the theory of multiple intelligences diverges from the traditional points of view”(370). If one were to have a more conservative education, Gardner’s ideas would have been absurd because nobody would have understood them. People would have only understood intelligence as being smart in school. People with a conservative education would never look deeper into things. On the other hand, a liberal education teaches people to challenge what they have learned, if they do not agree with it. Gardner did just that. Alfred Binet believed that intelligence was measured by IQ tests. Gardner did not agree with this, so he did his own research on it. Because of Gardner’s liberal education, he was able to rise above those who received a more conservative education.

Carl Jung’s essay, “The Personal and the Collective Unconscious” based itself on a liberal education because it talks about psychology, which falls under liberal education. Psychology is the study of mind and behavior. A liberal education allows people to study this; however, a more conservative education would not because studying the mind is not essential in academics. Psychology studies the things that people cannot see, such as conscious and unconscious states. It also allows people to not have to accept what other people say. In the essay written by Jung, he stated, “If in such cases we pursue our observations systematically and without prejudice, we shall find material which, although similar in form to the previous personal contents, yet seems to contain allusions that go far beyond the personal sphere”(345). Carl Jung did not agree with Freud’s theory, so he did his own research, and found Freud’s research to be inconclusive. Because of his liberal education and study in psychology, Jung was able to control the forces in his life and did not agree with what was thought by Freud.

Plato’s, “The Allegory of the Cave” shows that the prisoners of his story were unable to see the truth because of their lack of a liberal education. In fact, at first they could not see anything nor could they move their heads. With only the aid of a small fire were they able to see the shadows of pictures on the wall. However, in the end, one prisoner rose above the shadows and saw the truth when he was let out of the cave, but when he went back to the cave, he was terrorized. Plato wrote, “He will require to grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. And first he will see the shadow’s best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves”(317). The other prisoners were not liberally