Civilization And Its Discontents
(Sigmund Freud)
Civilization and Its Discontents is one of those works whose ideas have become so ingrained in our culture that they have become for many of us either passé or the object of ridicule.While many of Freud?s ideas have since been discounted, particularly as they pertain to direct treatment, we should not lose sight of how profound the underlying thesis of this book is: the demands of modern civilization and the fundamental instincts of human beings are out of sync, and that the result is unhappiness, whether we call it neurosis, anxiety, or depression. Freud talks about our natural impulses, including our sexual and aggressive impulses (the Id). We live in a world that does not allow free expression of those impulses. Further, we have internalized those societal restrictions (the Superego). The chronic tension that arises between these forces is posited to be the underlying cause of anxiety. This is the curse of modern or ?civilized? man. In pre-civilization, there was much more anxiety about ensuring basic needs were met, staying alive in a hostile environment, and trying to tame nature; now, rather than the battle of man versus nature, we have the battle of man against himself in the guise of the very civilization we have created. As Freud points out, modern man has traded the ability to exercise his instincts and urges at will for the greater security of longer life.In the course of making his case, Freud takes a look at how some of our basic cultural dictates, e.g., ?love thy neighbor as thyself,? serve as mechanisms for enforcing the suppression of our fundamental urges. He also talks about the mechanisms we have developed for defending against or channeling those urges including sublimation and repression.If you are going to read one book by Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents would not be a bad choice. While not a particularly easy read, this is a relatively brief and seminal discourse that is representative of Freud?s thought, writing style and profound impact on how we perceive our world.
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