Freud Civilization And Discontents Essay

Freud has been regarded as one of the most influential neurologist of all time with his works Neurology and psychology, with “Civilization and Its Discontents” being recognized among his famous and brilliant writings. It stressed more on a bewildering theory that argued on civilization as a major source of happiness within majority of the civilized people. He suggested that through inhibiting natural instincts, civilization pushes individuals into a condition of perpetual guilt hence triggering unhappiness. Utilizing themes in his previous works in regard to psychoanalysis, he observes the basis guilt as well as mechanism through which it reins the human instinct. This paper focuses on exploring intellectual thoughts of Freud on sexuality
in civilization and why this has become a critical landmark on antiquity of ideas hence giving individual opinion in regard to his views.
Freud suggests that "It is impossible to escape the impression that people commonly used false standards of measurement that they seek power, success and wealth for themselves and admires them in others, and that they underestimate what is of true value in life." (Freud, 11) and goes on to redefine sexuality to involve its childhood type that resulted into formulating Oedipus complex hence becoming his principle of psychoanalytical theory. Guided by own analysis and that of the his patient’s dream, the wish-fulfillments offers representations on clinical scrutiny of symptom development, the mechanism of regulator and the explanation of the theory of unconsciousness to being a resolution that disrupts the conscious condition of the mind.
The earlier ideologies of Freud on sexuality unlike the present civilization calls for creating a room for sexual relations based on solitary binding bonds between man and woman without allowing sexuality become source of pleasure in its own right thus tolerating it as way of spreading human race. He states that "The last but certainly not the least important, of the characteristic features of civilization remains to be assessed: the manner in which the relationships of men to one another, their social relationships, are regulated - relationships which affect a person as a neighbor, as a source of help, as another person's sexual object, as a member of a family and of a State." (Freud, 42)
Freud argued that "The development of civilization appears to us as a peculiar process which mankind undergoes, and in which several things strike us as familiar. We may characterize this process with reference to the changes which it brings about in the familiar instinctual dispositions of human beings, to satisfy which is, after all, the economic task of our lives" (Freud, 43) although individuals and civilizations advance in corresponding approach and it is likely to become anxious as civilization can be troubled in a similar way, as it is believed that the absence of sheltered ego identity forces individuals to develop sexual winning conducts that result to abuse of the opposite sex. This often a time causes the increase of sexual closeness with the number of subjugation reaffirming social alterations in sexuality that occurs as a result of conflicting diverse and normal competing collective groups.
Through relying on psychoanalysis principles, Freud suggests that due to the hardships, disappointments, as well as pains brought along by life, sexuality has been part of palatable measures taken by man to substantiate pain and seek happiness in life as it creates satisfaction through examining motives and instincts that enable civilization as he defines happiness to “the absence of pain in combination with strong feelings of pleasure” thus stressing out that “the quest for happiness, and the purpose of life is the pleasure.”
The thoughts of Freud regarding primal man can be considered factual since before man enters into civilization, he is always aggressive thus pursuing a life centered solely on instinct and trails sexual needs as they come along and rarely cooperates with other males. According to Freud states that, “in the course of development the relation of love to civilization loses its unambiguity. On the one hand love comes into opposition to the interests of civilization; on the other, civilization threatens love with substantial restrictions" (Freud, 50) hence sexual drive enables man to keep him close to woman in order to meet his cravings each time he wishes. This result to birth of children thus giving a reason for women as well as the children to live closer to man in search for defense. Family has been regarded as a form of civilization hence setting man to the course of being civilized.
In addressing the issue of sexuality in civilization, Freud counters social bargains through suggesting that sexuality is not a collective representation rather an individual question considering the structure of human minds and social relations on how to manage personal cognitive nature. This can be agreed that the civilized approach focuses on group ego and psychology function in attempt to realize the binding ties that instill a sense of belonging within different sexes.
Sexuality in civilization has been realized to acknowledge the idea of empathy with a loved and feared father figure hence discovering how these ties are significant in holding together individuals through founding symbols and myths. Freud supported this believe in “Civilization and its Discontents” through expressing that civilization made people unhappy as it contradicts the urge for freedom, wealth, progress and happiness and requires domination of instincts and drives that include aggression, sexual instincts to enable progression of civilization.
In spite of the fact that individuals may hold varying attitudes and beliefs, the outcome is advancement of religious societies that have controlled and helped in abandoning the desires hence the absence of these controls, recognitions as well as instincts has been perceived to what makes in primitive societies happier and ensuring the remain primitive and not civilized.
These individuals are considered to experience a general, intense and indecisive non-sexual love as their fellow humans thus making friendship impossible as stated by Freud that “Women represent the interests of the family and of sexual life. The work of civilization has become increasingly the business of men, it confronts them with ever more difficult tasks and compels them to carry out instinctual sublimations of which women are little capable.” (Strachey et al., 315).
In this case women have remained compassionate to their primitive drivers since they are not able to control them hence focusing on resenting civilization making men feel less attracted to families and sex and becoming more concerned with politics, philosophy, religion, as well as ethics. This was more attributed through acknowledging the intelligence portrayed by women such as Anna his daughter and other women psychoanalysts whom he had
trained.
Additionally Freud acknowledged that it was important for the society to put restrictions on individuals sexual behavior to enhance its own good thus stating “we should curb children’s sexual behavior, because if we don’t, they will grow up to be unable to control their own sexual behavior.” He adds, “though, to say that society goes much too far in putting restrictions on people sex lives.
Society disapproves of homosexuality, perversions, sex outside of marriage, and polygamy and in doing this, society cuts off a fair number of people from sexual enjoyment, and so becomes the source of serious injustice." (Strachey et al., 316). This has as well been emphasized in modern civilization since many of young generation have been observed to lack morals in regard to the subject of sexuality making them grow to become irresponsible adults. Freud suggests that the reason behind society putting many restrictions in regard to sexuality is that it has taken sexual vitality and converted it to a broad affection for all beings thus helping in countering the destructive drives though he noted these measures have yielded little success. In civilized society its crucial to prevent internal efforts hence though relating his experience with patients he states that “And now, I think, the meaning of the evolution of civilization is no longer obscure to us. It must present the struggle between Eros and Death, between the instincts of life and the instincts of destruction, as it works itself
out in the human species. This struggle is what all life essentially consists of, and the evolution of civilization may therefore be simply described as the struggle for life of the human species. And it is this battle of the giants that our nurse-maids try to appease with their lullaby about Heaven.” (Strachey et al., 322).
The issue of sexuality in civilization will continue to cause further anxiety to humans if they are not advised to be moral and also involving direct control on children and failure to this will cause the civilized society to suffer from anxiety and guilt resulting to "permanent internal unhappiness." (Strachey et al., 324). The human happiness in civilized life is incompatible but this belief can be overturned only through development of morality within the society as whole and also developing moral on individual basis