Question

Sigmund Freud, "Civilization and its Discontents"

Chapter 5:

1         Freud’s rumination on the ideas of loving your neighbor as much as you love yourself and loving your enemies: on what basis does he critique these ideas?

2         Pointing to the ineradicable fact of human differences, Freud says, “So long as these undeniable differences have not been removed, obedience to high ethical demands entails damage to the aims of civilization, for it puts a positive premium on being bad.” Explain that.

3         The opening pages of this chapter build toward Freud’s assertion that humans are “creatures among whose instinctual endowments is to be reckoned a powerful share of aggressiveness”; man is revealed to be “a savage beast to whom consideration towards his own kind is something alien.” Does he persuade you that this is true?

4         What’s meant by the phrase, “the narcissism of minor differences”?

5         At the end of the chapter, there’s a jab against American political ideology? What is it?

Answer 1

1)Freud critique these idea on the basis of,it is the strongest defence against human agressiveness and excellent example of the unpsychological[expectation]of the cultural super ego.;such an enormous inflation of love can only lower its value,not get rid of the difficulty.Relationsip which affect a person as a neighbour as source of help,as another persons sexual object as a member of family and state.Civilization pays no attention to this.Oceanic feeling exist in many people and we are inclined to trace it back to an early phase of ego feeling ,may be freud explain everything in thes lines.The real changes in the relation of human being to possesion would be of more help in this direction than any ethical command;but the recognition of this fact among the socialist has been obsecured and made useless for practical purposes by a fresh idealistic misconception of human nature.

3)In the begining of this chapter freud clearly described that people commonly use false standard of measurement,that they seek power,success and wealth for themself and admire them in others and that they underestimate what is true value in life .from this point of view man is considered to be a savage beast.What a t obstacle to civilization aggressiveness must be,if the defence against it can cause as much unhappiness as agressiveness itself.Freud realy persuade that is true while we dealing with human nature.

4)Freud chalked it up to the innate human proclivity for agreesion and desire of distinct identity.To see ones neighbour reflect and mirror one self too much threatens a person unique self of sense and superority.Stephen brooks called it as the uncofortable truth of resemblence.To alleviate this injury to ones ego,one downplay their similarities with other and emphasize their divergence-which can be amplified in to seemingly unbridgeble rift.Freud called this phenomenon as"the narcissm of minor differences"

5)The present culural state of america would give us a good opportunity for studying the damage to civilization which is thus to be feared.But i shall avoid the temptation of entering upon critique of american civilization.I do not give an impression of wanting myself to employ american method.This is the jab in the end of chapter freud deals with.

2)Civilization impose great sacrifice not only man sexuality,but on his aggressivity,we can understand better why it is hard for him to be happy in that civilization.In fact premitive man was better off in knowing no restriction of instinct.civilized man has exchanged a portion of his possibilities of happiness for a portion of securities.