After some colloquial commentary on the demystification of religion, as discussed through its thorough analysis in “The Future of Illusions,” Freud guides the reader toward the preliminary investigative question of the text viz., is civilization a harm or a benefit to humanity?
Throughout the inquiry, the reader is challenged with some appalling characteristics of humanity that materialize as self-evident. The Freudian methodology elicits these commonly held aspects of reality into a focused arrangement of his over-arching theory of psycho-analysis.
As Freud construes it, the inception of civilization is found in the individual; each person is born into a fearful world and seeks pleasure, or at least the avoidance of pain. Consequently, the Freudian analysis is that the grounding of civilization can be found in egoism; viz., each person, as an individual, attempting to gain the greatest amount of happiness, or at worst, the least amount of pain. Interestingly enough, there seems to be a multi-layered connection with this particular part of Freud’s analysis and the work of Jean-Paul Sartre or existentialism in general. Can one not perceive the connection between the Sartrean thrown into existence and the Freudian birth into a …show more content…
Namely, the demands of society as over and against the strong rooted individualistic tendencies of humanity create a separation of self from self. Does this sound familiar? Again, this looks suspiciously similar to an existential Dostoevsky-like concept of laceration. This is laceration signifying competition between others for one’s own pride to the detriment of another; laceration, implying manipulation toward others that produces a separation of self from self. Consequently, the individual is now obliged, because of danger, to utilize manipulation resulting in the tearing away from others and ultimately in the tearing apart of one’s own
Throughout the inquiry, the reader is challenged with some appalling characteristics of humanity that materialize as self-evident. The Freudian methodology elicits these commonly held aspects of reality into a focused arrangement of his over-arching theory of psycho-analysis.
As Freud construes it, the inception of civilization is found in the individual; each person is born into a fearful world and seeks pleasure, or at least the avoidance of pain. Consequently, the Freudian analysis is that the grounding of civilization can be found in egoism; viz., each person, as an individual, attempting to gain the greatest amount of happiness, or at worst, the least amount of pain. Interestingly enough, there seems to be a multi-layered connection with this particular part of Freud’s analysis and the work of Jean-Paul Sartre or existentialism in general. Can one not perceive the connection between the Sartrean thrown into existence and the Freudian birth into a …show more content…
Namely, the demands of society as over and against the strong rooted individualistic tendencies of humanity create a separation of self from self. Does this sound familiar? Again, this looks suspiciously similar to an existential Dostoevsky-like concept of laceration. This is laceration signifying competition between others for one’s own pride to the detriment of another; laceration, implying manipulation toward others that produces a separation of self from self. Consequently, the individual is now obliged, because of danger, to utilize manipulation resulting in the tearing away from others and ultimately in the tearing apart of one’s own