Freud, Jung and Adler, living and working as practising Psychiatrists, in turn of the century Vienna, independently developed
the concepts of Psychology. Strikingly, two of Freud’s most important concepts were translated into English using words in daily usage by German-speakers. Freud divided the soul into the conscious, the preconscious and the
unconscious. Ich (I), described the conscious mind, er (it) described the unconscious mind, translated as the ego and id. I, is personal, yet ego has selfish connotations, this is not what Freud intended. The preconscious Uber-ich (super-ego) was relegated through the shortcomings of English to eliminating any mention of the word soul.Freud describes everyday errors, when our unconscious mind plays tricks on us, calling them Fehlleistungen, leistung – accomplishment, Fehl – failure. A Freudian slip describes how we said what we wanted to say, yet we also know it was wrong. Fehlleistung is translated as’parapraxis’ a word derived from Classical Greek, indicating something far removed from personal experience.Freud referred to Schaulust, lust in looking – its meaning is clear. Scopophilia, the word used by Freud’s translators is entirely unclear.The English
translation of Freud changed the essential meaning of his work, allowing readers to distance themselves from what Freud wanted to say. Psychoanalysis translates into the analysis of the patient’s unconscious mind, yet, Freud urged a reasonable dominance of the conscious over the unconscious mind. The prime requirement for living well is to control our inner conflicts, to love and be loved and not to allow our ego to take over our lives.