Introduction
Psychoanalysis has been used since its inception to explain various aspects of psychology. Psychoanalysis is a field that advances the theory that humans are affected by certain unconscious aspects of reality. The theory was originally advanced by Sigmund Feud. According to him these aspects which are unconscious have a lot of effect on the lives of people. This produces unhappiness and certain disorders in the psychology of humans. The theory provides for the handling of such problems by getting to the root of the factors and their impact on the psychology of an individual. The Psychoanalysis theory is also applicable to the various creation stories of the universe. The aim of this paper is to advance the psychoanalysis theory to three creation stories. The paper will take an analytical look at all the stories in line with the psychoanalytic theory. The creation stories to be analyzed and interpreted are as follows: the Judeo-Christian creation story, the African Bushmen creation story and the Greek creation story. To succeed in this endeavor the paper will look at each story separately so as to analyses all the factors in line with the psychoanalytic theory.
Judeo-Christian Creation Interpretation
The creation story explains the origin of various aspects of life. Specifically the story explains the origin of sin, pain and suffering. It is clear from the story that the psychoanalytical theory applies to the creation story. From the beginning of the story before man disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit, Eros was reining. During the era of Eros life was a good and God had given man all the things he desired. As a result the story explains the origin of pain and suffering for human beings. Thanatos is represented in the story by the temptation of the serpent that encouraged the woman to eat the fruit. The suffering of humans is as a result of the act of disobedience by eating what had been forbidden. Eros on the other hand is represented by the good life of happiness. Everything in life was good as far as man followed the laws God had given him. However Thanatos was ushered in by the disobedience of man by eating the fruit. From the story all the troubles and sufferings of man derive their origin from the disobedience of man to the laws of God. The psychoanalytical theory seeks to explain the nature and origin of certain events that have a lot of impacts on the lives of people. The story contains both the sections of Eros and Thanatos in its endeavor to explain the origin and events of life.
African Bushmen Creation interpretation
The African Bushmen creation story complements the Eros and Thanatos perspectives of the psychoanalytical theory. The story perfectly explains the origin of trouble and enmity between the animals and humans. There was a period when Eros prevailed, during this time human and animals lived together in peace. There was perfect harmony as everything was happening in the right men. When the creator left the universe he gave them a rule which they were not to break. Humans were not supposed to light fire since it could come with severe consequences. Eros was the period when humans lived according to the way the creator wanted. However Thanatos represented the time when man decided to go against the wishes of the creator. So man lit the fire and since then the animals and the humans separated. The story fulfils the psychoanalytical theory by endeavoring to explain the causes of animosity between animals and humans.
Greek Creation Interpretation
The Greek creation story symbolizes the two different phases of the psychoanalytical theory. Eros prevails during the time when God had created the universe and he lived well with his sons. The first part of the story signifies that in the beginning life was good and that there were no troubles and ills that plague humanity today. The story explains that the case of all the troubles and challenges of life (Thanatos) came from the action of Prometheus to give men fire. This angered his father who looked for a way of dealing with humans. As a result he gave the woman (Pandora) a box with troubles and evil. Since Pandora’s gift was curiosity this was just like a trap through which humans were going to experience suffering. The Greek creation story perfectly captures the psychoanalytical theory since it derives all human suffering from the actions of Prometheus. Eros prevailed when everything was done in the manner in which the creator wanted. Thanatos took over when deeds that annoyed god were performed.
Humanity has experienced a conflict between certain unseen elements that affect the life and events altogether. According to the psychoanalytical theory these two elements can be categorized as Eros and Thanatos. Eros represents the positive, good and loving part of life. Through Eros life is progressive and good to live, there are loving events, harmony, prosperity and togetherness. Under Eros life is a forum for happiness and success. People live in harmony and perfect love, there is an urge to do well and enjoy life at any moment. Only the right things of life come through Eros and success and happiness are achieved through that. However Thanatos is the evil, dark side of life which represents death and destruction. Under the dispensation of Thanatos, there exist dishonesty and rebellion. Disobedience produces evil which makes life difficult and not worth enjoying. Thanatos comes to steal the good things of life. Through Thanatos all kinds of problems erupt and make life so difficult and frustrating. The three creation stories discussed above analyze the essence of the events of life. In each and every story there is an aspect of the original state of affairs that prevailed in the earlier days. However after the performance of certain actions the status changed and things went wrong. For instance the Judeo-Christian creation theory talks a bout the serpent that tempted the humans into eating the forbidden fruit. So in essence Eros prevailed and life was good and enjoyable, but when Thanatos came in there was an aspect of disobedience and evil which produced a lot of consequences. The Greek creation story elucidates on the existence of Eros before the curiosity of Pandora released all the evils in the world. As a result Thanatos came in with all the evil, darkness and suffering making life difficult. Through all the stories disobedience to the law bring in Thanatos where life changes to the worst. The theory explains the events of life that are often misunderstood but have a relevant effect on the course of life. Through the three creation stories the aspect of Eros and Thanatos is symbolized in the successive events that come with a profound effect on life.