ipl-logo

Sigmund Freud's Civilization And Its Discontents

821 Words4 Pages

Student: Lucache Oana (căs. Şulic)
M I- CCB
SIGMUND FREUD
Civilization and its Discontents Sigmund Freud, “the most influential intellectual legislator of his age” , was an Austrian neurologist and the father of psychoanalysis. Besides his questionless print that he left in the field of psychoanalysis that he himself founded, Freud had a keen eye for the interpretation of culture and society. “What do they demand of life and wish to achieve in it?”. This is the question concerning men’s lives that our excerpt from Freud’s “Civilization and its Discontents” begins with and the question that perhaps most people ask themselves quite often. Freud’s simple answer to this widely spread question is happiness which can be achieved by “an …show more content…

Our aggressiveness is a continuous and the most serious threat for civilization. Civilized society tried with no major success to use love for the other, restriction upon sexual life and even violence against criminals to stop our natural aggressiveness. Freud gives here the communists’ example who believe that they found the way to deliver us from our aggressive nature by abolishing private property. Unlike Marx who states that abolition of private property is the solution of any form of human conflict, Freud doesn’t agree, arguing that this doesn’t stop our aggressive nature and that there are other things too which would arouse our aggressiveness since “it forms the basis of every relation of affection and love among people”. It is hard to give up on our …show more content…

A cohesion between the members of a community is formed and thus, a feeling of “hostility against intruders” appears, which helps protecting that community. The modern man cannot be happy since both his sexuality and his aggressiveness are being controlled by civilization. Eros in Freud’s view is the “principle of life” for which civilization tries to “bind together isolated individuals into a vast unity, humanity as such” , whereas Thanasos is the death drive, aggressiveness being its representative. Our evolution as a civilized society depends on the continuous struggle between Eros and Thanasos, “the instinct of life and the instinct of

Show More
Related

Analysis Of Theodore Dalrymple's 'What We Have To Lose'

57 Words | 1 Pages

The following document reflects on the subjective matters and different thoughts of an author on the human actions. In Theodore Dalrymple “what we have to lose”, the author seems to questions human integrity, argues on the rule of barbarism and describes civilization as the key. I personally, happen to agree to all the arguments made by

Read More

Nurse Ratched In One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

1091 Words | 5 Pages

“This world... belongs to the strong, my friend! The ritual of our existence is based on the strong getting stronger by devouring the weak. We must face up to this. No more than right that it should be this way. We must learn to accept it as a law of the natural world” (Kesey 185).

Read More

Comparing Violence And Human Nature By Howard Zinn And William Golding

663 Words | 3 Pages

Zinn argues that it is under conditions that humans resort to violence, and in a sense, Holding agrees. Golding uses allegory to show that people alongside their prominent psyche change alongside their environment, becoming people in a civilization that is much less civilized than they are accustomed to. Zinn refers to the psyche, saying, “...the erotic, or love, instinct and its opposite, the destructive instinct. But the only hope he could hold for the erotic triumphing over the destructive was in the cultural development of the human race…” (Zinn 598-599) Humans, rather than living with a lack of a moral instinct, actually live with an exercised belief of different moral rights and

Read More

Comparing The Views Of C. S. Lewis And Freud Debate

1990 Words | 8 Pages

Lewis and Sigmund Freud both brought significantly different views to the table on the topic of happiness. Freud’s main point is that happiness comes from pleasure, which primarily involves sexual encounters. However, that is not always attainable, therefore pleasure comes and goes and happiness is short-lived. In contrast, Lewis’ main point is that happiness comes from a relationship with the Creator. Without communion with the Lord, there will always be a void in the human heart that no amount of earthly pleasure can fill.

Read More

Self Control In Of Mice And Men And The Scarlet Ibis By James Hurst

581 Words | 3 Pages

Humans need self control. Steven pinker exclaims “Human nature is complex. Even if we do have inclinations toward violence, we also have inclination to empathy, to cooperation, to self-control.” Humans have a tendency to feel or act certain ways. When we are put in certain situations we bring out the worst and best of our propensity.

Read More

Stereotypes Of Domestic Homicide

1068 Words | 5 Pages

It seems that the general emotions of Jealousy and possessiveness exist merely as a vessel for the act of aggression of which has been a staple of the evolution of man since the dawn of

Read More

Ww1 Honor Definition

1842 Words | 8 Pages

For better or worse, war is a part of human nature (Walzer, 337). Throughout history, men have taken up arms against one another; initially in individual combat, as society progressed in tribal battles, and eventually in international war. Prussian philosopher, Immanuel Kant theorized that the “unsocial sociability” of mankind brings people together as a society but also drives them apart. The basic human need to be with others creates great societies, however the essential need for balance leads to warfare, which drives them apart.

Read More

Civilization And Kafka's Analysis

752 Words | 4 Pages

In Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents, Freud states that the definition of happiness is dependent on the individual and is influenced by choices the individual makes (Freud 54). On the other hand, in Kafka’s ¬Metamorphosis, Kafka does not explicitly state what happiness is but shows it through the life of Gregor, which allows for a single interpretation of happiness. Using Freud’s outline of happiness, one can study and understand Kafka’s interpretation of happiness from Metamorphosis and realize that both interpret happiness in the same way. Both Freud’s Civilization and its Discontents and Kafka’s ¬Metamorphosis shows that happiness can be found through love, but can be interfered by how one’s body is and from relations to other

Read More

William Hazlitt's 'On The Pleasure Of Hatred'

584 Words | 3 Pages

In his essay, “On The Pleasure of Hatred”, William Hazlitt claims that, humans inherent enjoy the act of hating, causes them to hate themselves and create toxic societies. To further his claim, Hazlitt showcases the institutionalized belief systems that groups within humanity use to execute their

Read More

Margaret Mead Warfare Is Only An Invention Not A Biological Necessity Summary

1864 Words | 8 Pages

It is a state of nature that humans choose to fight and have the courage to kill those of the opposite opponents. There is always those who try to prohibit competiveness and discover more contemporary idea, with less socially harmful affects, to give those who are “biologically” aggressive an ability to express their nature of

Read More

Sigmund Freud: The Second Wave Of Psychoanalysis

1528 Words | 7 Pages

Psychoanalysis was first introduced by Sigmund Freud and is now known as classical psychoanalysis. The theory, as defined by Sigmund Freud, is the dynamic between underlying forces that determine behavior and personality. He stressed the importance of human sexuality, childhood experiences, and the unconscious processes. However, his theory was seen as misogynistic and narrow focused. Consequently, classical psychoanalysis was criticized and rejected by many scholars.

Read More

Comparison Between Jane Eyre And Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

1437 Words | 6 Pages

Charlotte Bronte knew as one of the most talented women authors of the Victorian era. She and her sisters, Emily and Anne grow up in Victorian England, they were inspired by the Romantic authors, and all of them write masterpieces in English literature. Charlotte Bronte faced a lot of difficulties, and obstacles in her life even though she manages to write important works in English Literature. For example, Jane Eyre, The Professor, Shirley, and Villette. At first, she writes Jane Eyre under pseudonym Currer Bell.

Read More

Why Human Beings Go To War Analysis

1231 Words | 5 Pages

To attack is among my instincts.” It is a debate between Hobbes, who saw humans as war-like and violent, and Rousseau, who thought that humanity was naturally peaceful until civilization came along. Many anthropologists suggest that in pre-civilization social orders, things were pretty violent. In Australia, for example, killing and fighting was among the main causes of mortality, and archaeology has revealed evidence of warfare going back thousands of years. Now, some of these anthropological

Read More

Similarities Between Freud And Erikson

2116 Words | 9 Pages

Introduction Sigmund Freud is the great theorist of the mysteries of the human mind and a founder of the psychoanalysis theory which was formed in the 1800s, the theory is well known for accessing self-identity and the self in different ways in order to discover their different meaning, (Elliott, 2015). Buss (2008) states that Sigmund’s theory of Psychoanalysis offers a unique controversial insight into how the human mind works in a way that, this theory provided a new approach to psychotherapy, thus it means that it provided a new treatment for psychological problems that even highly qualified doctors couldn’t even cure. (Buss, 2008) According to Cloninger (2013), Erik Erikson on the other hand is the founder of the psychoanalytic-social Perspective which is mostly referred to as psychosocial development theory, Erikson became interested in child development when he met Anna Freud and he trained in psychoanalysis and with his Montessori diploma, he become one of the most influential psychologist of the 20th century.

Read More

Definition Essay: What Does It Mean To Be Happy?

647 Words | 3 Pages

What we do know is that we all seek happiness. Societies concern is too many of us struggle with being happy. Let’s go further into depth to grasp the meaning. Importantly, what does it mean to be happy?

Read More

More about Sigmund Freud's Civilization And Its Discontents

Related Topics

Open Document