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Free «Theories of Human Development» Essay Sample

Theories of human development and various aspects pertaining to human nature have been outlined and supported since the time of Greek philosophers like Plato. However, in the contemporary society it is difficult to outline developmental stages and certain conflicts faced by human beings without mentioning the "Sex" by Edward Wilson and Oedipus complex by Sigmund Freud. Sex has been studied extensively by the two philosophers bringing certain aspects that were initially only thought to be theories, now seem to be ascertained by the happenings in the contemporary world. Most theorists only based their propositions on superficial aspects of the differences, similarities and the resultant conflicts between men and women. The bone of contention is that the two sexes might have been originally destined to co-exist together or to compete with each other or even both co-exist and compete. In co-existing the understanding of certain aspects such as childbearing are placed into perspective. With regard to competing for resources the current lack of clear definition of roles is just but one example. However, the most interesting of them all is the attempt to co-exist and compete because there seems to be a superimposition of certain aspects that are totally antagonistic with each other. In seeking for the authenticity of a certain topic interest people have always tried to reconcile the conflicting aspects with the aim of arriving at some common ground through criticism and development. This paper will use the same approach to compare and contrast the "Sex" theory as outlined by Edward Wilson and the Oedipus complex by Sigmund Freud. The importance of the two theories with respect to the topic cannot be over emphasized and the aim of the paper will not seek to conclude whose postulation is most applicable. On the contrary the paper will seek to gather understanding on the topic.

 
 
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The Oedipus complex. The Oedipus complex outlines that in early infancy the child is not so sensitive when it comes to sex of either of the parent but is intimately drawn to the mother. During this stage the father becomes the third wheel in the union between the mother and the infant. However, as the child grows the child becomes the third wheel but retains the notion that it is attached to either of the parents (Grotstein 49). However, Freud also brought into aspect an important postulation which he called the pre-Oedipus Stage. During this stage the relationship between the parents and etiher of the children was governmd not by sex but by aggression. Freud divided the Oedipus Complex in Stages that he reffered to as Phallic stages. Freud saw the stages as periods so challenging for the child because he was being faced with the dilemma of responding to the affection it feels for the parents and the fact that the parents might cause the child harm sexually. The resentment and the confusion that resulted from the traingular struggle meant that it was very difficult, but not an impossibility for human beings to mate with their parents. In the contemprorary society cases of incest have become so common and researches are directed towards the establishment of whether the incest is caused by the same aggression Freud was reffering to.

 
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Sex. Edward Wilson on the other hand approaches sex from the perspective of biology which outlines that it is the genesis of infancy. Remarkably Wilson was the first to provide a comparative interaction between socilogy and biology. In the developing of the altruistic postulations, Wilson observed that the production of offsprings was strongly related to kinship but could not gather evidence enough to support the postulations. The observations were that in certain colonies ants tended to form sexual associations with ants of the close kins, while in other colinies the ants tended to form associations with colonies in which they had no kinship. In addition, further researches conducted revealed that there was bo single consistency in the way animals produced offsprings.Parent Child RelationshipTriangular Conflict.The triangular conflict experienced in the relationhsip between the child and the two parents placed both the child and the parents in a very fragile situation. As the child grew the child faced various challenges in the relationship caused by the needs that the parents fulfilled and the fantasies that the child harbored. First, the child was in danger of what Freud called castration or genital mutilation. For the boy child Freud reffered to the harm as castration while for the girl child the threat was known as genital mutilation. In addition, there was also the danger of the child being deprived of the previously enjoyed affection and other provision in the even that other children were born. All these dangers and insecurities tended to draw a child away or closer to the parents with respect to how the child related the external discoveries and the challenges. Such external factors included the consciousness of sex and the perception that the child developed that tended to draw the child either to the father or to the mother. The postulation by Freud could be an explanation for certain siblings being closer to their mothers while other closer to their fathers irregardless of the sex. The attractiveness to either of the parents as the child grows has not been substantiated yet.Sibling Preference to Parent Company. Research initatives by Wilson has shown that siblings have the tendency of joining of prefering other families. The research conducted by Wilson did not show in conlusion the reason as to why ants in most instances prefer other colonies. The general argument is that the ants should prefer their own colonies and should be brought together due to their kinship (Keitlen 103). The tendency, however minute it may be, shows that as siblings grows up they tend to prefer other families. Similar researches have shown that the reason for the the current increase in conflicts between parents and children, is due to the realization that they are under no obligation to please their parents. On the other hand children feel that it is their rights to gain affection from their parents. Remarkably both Freud and Wilson agree on the fact that there is a tendency of offspring rebellion as the offsprings grow. The current explanation is that generational barriers have particularily important role, but Freud and Wilson provide a different perspective that when given consideration can shed more light to the issue. In most instances, female children tend to rebel more against their mother while male children tend to rebel more against their fathers. The observation was made both by Freud and Wilson. Freud outlined that male children tended to consider their fathers as competition to the motherly affection they needed from their mothers (Devlin 87). The same thing happens with female children because they tend to consider their mothers as competition to the fatherly love they needed. Wilson also observed that worker ants tend to prefer queens from different colonies. Although Wilson did not go further to provide an explanation to the observation, there is the general realization that both Wilson and Freud made an important observation that sex played an important role as to how siblings and parents related as they grew older. The realization has opened many doors for research inititives aimed at shedding more light (Wilson 316).

The findings and postulations of Freud and has remarkably given insight to the fields of psychology ans sociology. The current conflicts being faced within marriages and families shows that there are certain aspects that are at play that are causing the happennings. The divorce rates are on the rise and children are becoming more and more rebellious. In analyzing the theories by Freud and Wilson one does not fail to observe that they have an object of truth within. For instance, Freud though not intentionally, introduced the aspect of incest even though in those times it had not emerged as a major social problem. Furthemore, the trangular conflicts existing within families shows that there are some challenges that families experience that have not been demystified. The relationship between opposite sexes has primarily been to be peaceful. However, the increasing spousal violence and violence against women shows that the current society has missed an important aspect that governs the relationships. Therefore, the theories by Freud and Wilson should be given a chance in the current research initiatives not as the major approach but complementary approach. The realization is that the theories have their strengths and weaknesses and this shows that they have a place. In fact, the analysis of the two theories also reveal that there are places that they contradict each other and this ascertains that none of them is right or wrong. However, by reconciling the two theories within and without with other theories there are higher chances of arriving at important findings. This approach is the same kind of approach that has been used in science for a long time especially in areas where the results are sometimes difficult to reproduce like in psyhcology and sociology.

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