Adam Kotula
The Future of an Illusion
Publication Date: 1927
Author: Sigmund Freud
Brief Plot Summary: The Future of an Illusion is a novel where Freud gives his explanation of religion in regards to its development through time as well as its origins. This book is broken up into ten chapters, each looking at a different concept or psychological function of religion and then further branching off in discussion. The first two chapters analyze both the psychological functions and terms of civilization. When Freud looks at the definition of a civilization, he sees it as a body of people that are linked to a specific guideline of rules and are used for controlling the wealth and actions of other among the certain population. He furthers this argument by explaining these two topics mentioned above do not work separately of each other and the primary problem of a civilization is to control social desires. Freud then goes
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In chapter 8, he focuses on how if religion is removed, there are various types of fear that could be sparked within a civilization. Freud goes on to describe the certain penalties and results that would occur if religion suddenly were to be abandoned. In addition, he mentions how one that is religious also might avoid personal neuroses. These, Freud mentions, can be surmounted using a psychoanalysis method. The last topic Freud talks about is an individual psychoanalysis on what his overall goal is in this book. He talks about his overall experiment and says if this “experiment process is unsatisfactory I am ready to give up the reform and return to my earlier judgment that man is a creature of weak intelligence who is ruled by his instinctual wishes” (62-63). His teaching can be summarized by saying: those who view life without incorporating religious influence will have to endure other types of suffering through their experiences in their
Throughout the rest of the book, Freud addresses the conflict between civilization and the individual. He starts with the fundamental paradox of civilization: we created civilization as a tool to protect ourselves from unhappiness; however it is our largest source of unhappiness. He also points out that contemporary technological advances have been a mixed blessing for human happiness. He also asks what the purpose of civilization is if it is not to satisfy the pleasure principal. He later concedes that civilization has to make compromises of happiness to fulfill its primary goal of bringing people into peaceful relationships with each other, by making them subject to a higher, communal authority.
In his book The Future of An Illusion, Freud (1928) struggled to create a theory that
Another argument Freud makes is how religion is an attempt to fill in the gaps where civilization and the pursuit of life cannot make individuals happy. "The urge to rectify the shortcomings of civilization which made themselves painfully felt" is fulfilled by religion. (Freud,
In chapter 8, Freud analyses the relationship between civilization and individual further. In his view, personal fulfillment still can be achieved under the community culture. He explains, “ Here by far the most important thing is the aim of creating a unity out of the individual human beings. It is true that the aim of happiness is still there, but it is pushed into the background”(Freud 105). In other words, community formed with every single individual and forming a community is the most important objective in the process of society development. Personal satisfaction can be achieved maximize if it is assumed that personal development is independent. However, the fact is not that simple. Individuals were born in community and they grow up in the environment that surrounded by their families and friends. They developed themselves along with the improvement of community. Individual and society are inseparable. So when individual considers about achieving personal fulfillment, the community culture is the first and the most primary restriction because they live in the community and they must obey community rules first. That is why Freud writes that personal happiness is always people pursuing but it is pushed into background when it intersects with community culture. For this reason, individual
In considering this book Freud starts to make the guide of mental life through the thoughts
Freud mainly focuses on human nature and questions the desire, ideas ,and beliefs that shape a human, he then further analyses them. We see in his literature, Civilization and its Disconnect, that he questions religion and the belief in God. He himself does not believe in God, but wants to know why many people follow and trust something that they cannot see. He also questions the concept of human relationships. Knowing that a two person relationship and interaction is inevitable and that it is a part of life, but he does not know if a third relationship, and further on, is necessary. Regardless, human relationships are a part of society, and one of causes of civilizations, which Freud defines as “the whole some of achievement and the regulations which distinguish our lives” (Freud). With one of the achievements
context, Freud is to be seen as having reconstructed the biblical history in accordance with his
Freud gives his insights about what he defines as religion and how the societal neurosis called religion can be expunged from our lives. Freud, in his book The Future of an Illusion gives his psychoanalytical theory in trying to explain religion and postulates that the phenomenon called religion is an imagination, a mere illusion that goes beyond questioning. He suggests that science will provide us with knowledge and explanations to do away with the religious neurosis and live a life where science will be able to prove everything. The following reflects the testimony of Sigmund Freud, if he was to be called upon as a witness in the trial of Warner v. Boca Raton.
Freud examined much of psychoanalysis and trends that were affected by it. Freud disagreed with religion to full extent. He believed that there needed to different tasks accomplished by the individuals that made up the society but in difference will lead to capitalism and the destruction of the social structure.
Freud's realization that mental life and civilization are so connected helps him to achieve a deeper understanding of the complexity of mental life. He comes to conclude that the development of each, if not the same process applied to different kinds of object, then they are at the very least similar. Freud's examination of the relationship between civilization and the individual allows him to note that the individual seeks to serve itself while at the same time serving civilization, just as civilization seeks to create unity among humans while perpetuating its own self. Freud also comes to conclude through his
On the other hand, Freud is more concerned with instilling the idea that infancy and childhood is a key role in development, he states, “by the time the child's intellect awakens, the doctrines of religion have already become unassailable,” suggesting that religion is a force that shapes civilization in which people function, as well as form our judgment of human civilization. Hence, the importance of developing successfully as opposed to failing to function in society, whether they are religious or not. Instead, he dubs man as “a creature of weak intelligence who is ruled by his instinctual wishes.”
Sigmund Freud's revolutionary ideas have set the standard for modern psychoanalysis in which students of psychology can learn from his ideas spread from the field of medicine to daily living. His studies in areas such as unconsciousness, dreams, sexuality, the Oedipus complex, and sexual maladjustments laid the foundation for future studies. In result, better understanding of the small things, which shape our lives.
Sigmund Freud’s influence on modern day thinking permeates into our lives every day whether or not we realize it. Although much of his work has either been refuted or revised, his ideas have influenced an enormous spectrum of psychology and how we view life through our own thoughts. While his influence is irrefutable, the opinions concerning Freud and his writings vary greatly throughout the world. Individuals may distinguish the great genius in his groundbreaking theories of psychoanalysis, or they may reject his writings arguing that he had pushed the envelope too far. Either way, it is safe to say that his theories still evoke a considerable amount of debate to this day. Out of all of Freud’s theories, however, it can be argued that his
Freud recognizes on one level that there is an innate conflict between the individual and society. So even at the first level, there is a conflict which will hinder happiness. Freud states that the norms of society are much too rigorous for the common person because they are in conflict with the inner desires of the psyche. Keep in mind, this has nothing
In Sigmund Freud’s “Civilization and its Discontents”, we are introduced to a new outlook in the way we view our lives due to his analysis of civilization and how it has affected our happiness. Freud uses his theory of instincts in order to explain what encourages us as well as how our behavior is all linked together and is motivated by our instincts. He explains why humans seek happiness and how it is one of the toughest things to achieve. Towards the end of his book he also gives an insight on how the individual psyche which consist of the id, ego, and super-ego leads us to feel guilt and its impact on civilization. Through his theory of instincts and the individual psyche, Freud is able to demonstrate how civilization has set limits to