This paper provides a critical analysis of Sigmund Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents, examining his argument that civilization — while offering order and security — fundamentally represses human instincts and generates widespread unhappiness. The paper traces Freud's key concepts, including the "oceanic" feeling, the pleasure principle, the super-ego, and the sources of human suffering. It also considers the historical context of the work, written in the aftermath of World War I, and evaluates Freud's claim that human aggression is the greatest threat to civilization. The paper concludes with a measured critique of Freud's perceived pessimism, arguing that humanity's persistent striving for peace complicates his darker view of human nature.
The paper demonstrates close reading of a philosophical primary source: it identifies Freud's central thesis, tracks how supporting concepts (the oceanic feeling, the pleasure principle, the super-ego) build that thesis, and then applies the framework to a historical case (Nazi Germany) before offering an evaluative conclusion. This technique — thesis tracking through a non-fiction text — is essential in undergraduate humanities writing.
The paper opens with a thesis statement summarizing Freud's central argument, then moves chronologically through the book's ideas: the oceanic feeling and ego, religion, suffering's three sources, civilization's stages of development, sexual and aggressive repression, the super-ego and guilt, and historical context. It closes with a first-person critical response. The structure is linear and expository, appropriate for a book analysis at the undergraduate level.
Humankind strives for happiness, but according to Sigmund Freud, the creation of civilization as a means to further this goal has instead generated unhappiness. In his book Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud asserts that the happiness of the individual is often sublimated to the need for civilization to establish law and order. People have an instinctual desire for absolute freedom, which includes a need to be sexually promiscuous as well as to be violent. To repress these naturally occurring human instincts and create an orderly society, humans have turned to civilization. But in doing so, humans have also created the source of their own unhappiness; they are no longer allowed to act in a manner that is instinctually natural. By repressing their natural urges, humans become civilized, but they live in a continual state of discontent.
In his analysis of civilization and why so many of its members are unhappy, Freud begins with what many consider a feeling of happiness — what he calls the "oceanic" feeling that many associate with religious faith. While fully accepting that such feelings exist within individuals, he attributes them to a person's ego interacting with the outside world. Most of the time, the ego — the rational and intellectual part of the mind — maintains a clear boundary between the individual and the outside world. This boundary must be maintained in order to protect the individual from the pain and suffering associated with the world in general. However, at certain times, particularly during moments of religious fervor, the line between the ego and the outside world blurs. Freud asserts that this blurring is the source of the sense of "eternity, a feeling as of something limitless, unbounded, something 'oceanic'" (Freud 2).
Freud next explains that the creation of the ego is synonymous with the creation of a line of separation between the ego and the outside world. As an individual's ego develops, they also develop an aversion to the pain of the world outside. But if this separation developed, then there must have been a time when no such separation existed — early in the individual's development. At this infantile stage, a person relied completely on a sense of paternal protection, a feeling that continues into adult life. Freud then revises his earlier characterization of the "oceanic" feeling, stepping back from the idea that it represents a simple blurring of the ego's boundary, and instead maintaining that it reflects a desire to "reinstate limitless narcissism…," associated with a childhood state of development (Freud 5).
Once Freud identifies the "oceanic" feeling of happiness with the individual's desire to return to a state of protection by an all-powerful father figure, he turns his attention toward religion. Freud makes no effort to conceal his disdain for organized religion, which he asserts is "patently infantile, [and] incongruous with reality…" (Freud 5). He claims that, while seeming to hold the answers to the meaning of life, religion does not contribute to human happiness.
When it comes to happiness, Freud argues that it is the "pleasure principle" that regulates an individual's happiness: the satisfaction of needs brings pleasure, which in turn brings happiness. Alternatively, suffering brings unhappiness, and can come from three sources: our own body, the outer world, and our relations with other human beings. As an individual's body becomes injured, sick, or simply less active with age, it becomes a source of anxiety and pain. The outside world contains all sorts of dangers and destructive possibilities, making the mere act of existing in the world a potential source of suffering. Finally, interactions between people can be the greatest source of pain and misery, ranging from the anguish associated with loving another individual to the devastation of wars affecting entire populations.
Civilization, therefore, is a source of humankind's suffering and misery. Freud asserts that three historic events have produced discontent with civilization. First was the establishment of Christianity over paganism, and the focus Christianity places on the afterlife rather than earthly life. Second came the European discovery and conquest of indigenous peoples around the globe who seemed to be living happily due to their closeness to nature. Third and finally were the scientific breakthroughs that identified the mechanisms of neuroses caused by social demands (Freud 13). This would seem to indicate that people are happier when living in primitive, uncivilized societies that are more in tune with the natural world. The modern world's technological advances also appear to worsen the human condition. Technology is created to ease suffering, but it also creates a false sense of security — the belief that people can be fully protected from the pain of the outside world.
Nevertheless, I must agree with those who claim that Freud is too pessimistic toward humanity, and feel that he does not adequately account for mankind's ability to overcome its violent tendencies. There is a reason humans have striven for peace for thousands of years. While people may be naturally aggressive, they also naturally seek peace and serenity. Humankind is a paradox, containing both aggression and a deep desire for peace and love. Sometimes the natural inclination for violence overcomes the desire for peace, but sometimes it does not. Peace is not merely the period of time between wars; it is something that humans have consistently tried to establish permanently. Just because they have so far failed does not mean they are incapable of attaining it — it only means they have not yet discovered how.
Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Buckinghamshire, England: Chrysoma Associates, 2005. Web. 9 Dec. 2012. http://lightoftheimagination.com/Freud-Civil-Disc.pdf
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