¶ … Freud's Writing by Socrates and Socrates' Writing by Freud
Socrates Commenting on Freud's Civilization and its Discontents
Sigmund Freud presents a very interesting set of principles in his work Civilization and its Discontents. Here, he describes his belief in the true identity of the nature of man. More than anything else, man is aggressive. This aggression is essentially caused out of the tension and conflict between innate primal desires and the demands of social mores. Such aggression is often channeled through the death drive, the primal need to destroy which must be released in one way or another, even in a modern context.
In this view, society then attempts to civilize that aggressiveness so that we can live together without killing each other. It redirects primal and sexual energies into more positively viewed energies and behaviors. In Freud's view, religion serves as an institute of society, and aims to tame the naturally wild and aggressive state humans are born into. Thus, Freud stresses the inseparable relationship between society and the individual that I simply cannot agree with. Civilization makes men unhappy, but it is a necessary evil to enjoy some of the finer rewards living in society has to offer. In this, Freud rightfully believes that the price of civilization is simply too high,
Yet, this is where I am personally lost, as morality and ethics do not stem from a common consensus within a society, but rather from the individual and his or her own actions. According to Freud, society restricts man, but I believe that the individual does have responsibility towards other people and the society in which one resides in. Essentially, the individual is the city; our individual identities are entirely wrapped up with the context of the cities we live in. Therefore, breaking with the city is like breaking with oneself. As I show in "Crito" in Plato's Five Dialogues, this belief is in stark contrast with Freud's concept of how the city and civilization only restricts the individual and how the individual is not happy within those restrictions. Yet,...
Freud, Socrates, Christ I, Socrates, have only questions for the author of Civilization and Its Discontents, Dr. Sigmund Freud. It surprises me greatly that Dr. Freud should so misread the great tragedy of Oedipus Tyrannos by my fellow Athenian, the poet Sophocles. Does Freud really believe the motivations of Oedipus to be some sort of universal constitutent of human behavior? As my distinguished colleague Frederick Crews (Professor Emeritus of English at
Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents Socrates on Freud's Civilization and its Discontents: Religion, the nature of man and the value of inquiry According to Sigmund Freud's Civilization and its Discontents, certain aspects of human nature are immutable. In some ways I do agree with this: I believe that every human being has a certain, innate tendency or ability to do something uniquely well. That is why I devised my vision of an ideal
Plato vs. Freud on eros and sexuality Plato's concept of love mandates two rectifications. Both of these rectifications are necessary in order for us to appreciate the relevance of Plato's theory of love to contemporary problems. The first depiction comports with the non-sexual aspect of the loving relationship, because Plato's theory of love indeed includes sex. The second depiction, or rectification, is related inextricably to the heterosexual aspect of the loving relationship.
Oedipal Hamlet Of all the great works of William Shakespeare, arguably his masterpiece is Hamlet. It is also perhaps his most famous work. People who have never seen a production or read it still have a vague understanding about the play's basic plot. This is of course the story of a young prince of Denmark who is mourning for his recently dead father, also named Hamlet who may or may
Socrates, "The unexamined life is not worth living (rdg.uk)." It is for this reason that a critical examination of our most fundamental beliefs about truth and reality whether right or wrong becomes an important undertaking (rdg.uk). The examination of major life perspectives challenges as well as helps us to better establish many of our own assumptions about life (rdg.uk). We should all be concerned with how different views of
He can then be influenced to live what he now understands but has yet to do. The therapist or doctor must encourage the patient or awaken his social interest and raise his level of energy along with it. By developing a genuine human relationship with the patient, the therapist or doctor can re-establish the basic form of social interest, which the patient can use in transferring it to others.
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