Bauman and Freud - Postmodern Ethics

A detailed Summary of Bauman and Freud - Postmodern Ethics

"Postmodernity, one may say, is modernity without illusionsaE? (Bauman, p. 32). To what extent would you say this absence of illusions characterizes not only Bauman's Postmodern Ethics but also Freud's Civilization And Its Discontents?

Postmodernity, according to Zygmunt Bauman, is characterized simply as modernity without illusions. Bauman believes strongly that being true and being postmodern are two directly related situations. Postmodernism, as Bauman states, is the state in which people, without a doubt, "knowaE? the truth around them. People living in a post-modern world make ethical decisions knowing that, ultimately, the world is completely ambiguous and undefined. Occurrences that happen in the post-modern world as described by Bauman happen not with a predetermined solution or a preplanned consequence. A post-modern world involves a concept that, as Bauman states, most philosophers cannot conceive of - an " 'unprincipled' morality, a morality without foundationsaE? (Bauman, p. 32).

Since Bauman defines postmodernity as modernity without illusions, one must therefore conclude as to what, exactly, this lacking illusion is. Using Bauman's definition, "knowing that to be the truth is to be postmodernaE? (Bauman,

Freud, in Chapter VII of Civilization and its Discontents, discusses how the need for self-preservation is often disrupted by "social anxietyaE? or a state in which individuals are controlled by the opinion of others towards them. Freud contends that the majority of society is ruled in this manner. Yet at the same time, he asserts that in order for members of a society to reach a "higher stage,aE? they must rise above the need to care about how others perceive their conduct. In other words, Freud's theory is directly implying that behavior controlled by social conventions is somehow more primitive than behavior in which each individual controls himself. Hence, Freud essentially views morality not so much as an issue of socially determined shame, but more as a matter of internalized primal guilt. This implies, therefore, that Freud believes that there is no need to shed any illusion of the world because people act upon what society says. Thus it only makes sense that he would view people as being controlled by their instincts, which in turn drive them to be aggressive and hostile by nature. Moreover, if, as Freud postulated, modern society besets human freedom by repressing sexual expression, then the postmodern era can be said to be defined by the individual's quest for sublime happiness at the expensive of security.

Of course, though Bauman does not see his post-modern society to be one full of Freud's ids, Bauman does agree that a world without illusions still needs a certain set of morals and ethics. For Bauman, "the desire to be moral could only have roots as earthy as the foundations on which future ethics were to be erected, and pass the test as human as the ground in which those foundations were set. Doing good had to be shown to be good for those who did itaE? (Bauman, p. 27). Thus, Bauman puts his trust in mankind, allowing human beings to figure out for themselves (for the most part) what is good and bad. Bauman disagrees with the idea of people being taught what is right or wrong; he does not believe that, just because an authority figure says a certain thing is unethical, that it is. One should therefore strive to be moral - one should desire to be good. However, while one can trust the wise to do good, one cannot trust all people to be wise. Bauman's solution to that problem is to give people more resour

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Approximate Word count = 1584
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

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