Freud Civilization and Its Discontents

A detailed Summary of Freud Civilization and Its Discontents

Freud defines the id as being a "general mass of sensations". What he means by this is that there are, at this stage, no boundaries between external environment and oneself. The id according to Freud is the only part that is present at birth. At this stage a person doesn't understand how their actions have anything to do with, or affect their surrounding environment and vice versa. Thus, their actions might or might not conflict with the standards and norms that society has placed on the individual.

The ego is that agency which acts as an intermediary between the id and the external world. It is charged with gaining control over the demands of the instincts and choosing not only which ones to satisfy, but when to satisfy them as well. The ego is formed from the id through the pleasure and reality principles. The pleasure principle is explained as pain out, pleasure in. This results in the human desire of trying to obtain as much pleasure in life as possible with the least amount of discomfort. Once the ego is formed, a person gains a sense of understanding that there is an outside world and that they must conform their actions to fit those boundaries, which are set by society. In addition, they begin to understand tha

In conclusion, Freud was fortunately or unfortunately not alive to bear witness to the birth and continuum of the industrial revolution, which is why he might have felt the way that he did about technology. I believe that not only would his views have remained the same today, but in fact they would have been even more justified. How many a time does one hear, "My computer crashed, what am I going to do now?" This exemplifies the fact that we have reached a point where we literally rely on technology and can't function without it!!

Freud in my humble opinion was scared of where all of this technological advancement was leading, and was for that reason, completely against labor saving technologies. He felt that all of this advancement that people were using their libido for was bad for society and was going to backfire in the long run. As it is stated in the book, "But here the voice of pessimistic criticism ... If there had been no railway to conquer distances, my child would never have left his native town and I should need no telephone to hear his voice ..." Although technology is a wonderful thing as it allows us to hear someone's voice who is far away, it is also the thing that took my son away from me. He feels that the disadvantages of technology greatly outweigh the advantages. I believe Freud felt that people desired such a level of technology, which would allow them potential access to a tremendous amount of leisure time. He felt that the disadvantages that technology brings about are not realized by people until its too late. All that is seen is the immediate satisfaction of the id but not the long-term effects.

The ego not only has to balance the id with reality, but also with the superego. This superego which Freud refers to is

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