Book Summaries
Civilization and its Discontents Summary (7/10)
The price we pay for the advancement of civilization is the heightening sense of guilt that we experience. In[ Civilization and its Discontents, ](https://www.amazon.
The price we pay for the advancement of civilization is the heightening sense of guilt that we experience. In Civilization and its Discontents, Freud explains why we feel guilt, where it came from, and what consequences it has had on the individual.
Religion
Freud starts his inquiry by alluding to a shared reality among religious people, the overwhelming oceanic feeling that is often called God. Man’s attachment to god, according to Freud, is really a longing for father. Adults who believe in god are like infants in their need for reassurance and their shared fear of the superiority of fate.
“He who possesses art and science has religion; he who does not possess them, needs religion”Goethe
God acts as a soothing presence in a life that is too hard for us. With this life comes many pains, disappointments and impossible tasks. We need to find palliative measures to counteract this.
Freud mentions three such measures. Powerful deflections: humour to make light of our misery. Substitutive satisfactions: actions that diminish it. Intoxicating substances: drugs to make us insensitive to it.
An example of deflection is found in Voltaire’s Candide when it concludes with advice to cultivate one’s garden.
Read The Dichotomy of the Self
YARPP List
Related posts:
- Totem and Taboo Summary (6/10)
- Chapter 4: The Background of Dynamic Psychiatry (The Discovery of the Unconscious)
- Chapter 5: On the Threshold of a New Dynamic Psychiatry (The Discovery of the Unconscious)
- Chapter 8: Alfred Adler and Individual Psychology (The Discovery of the Unconscious)
Keep Reading
Related Articles
Book Summaries
What is Social Proof?
You’ve probably heard of the power of social proof. The idea is that we are more likely to do something if we see other people doing it. And it makes sense, right? If other people are doing something, it must be worth doing.
Book Summaries
Bullshit Jobs Summary (8/10)
“Bullshit Jobs: A Theory” is a provocative book by anthropologist David Graeber that challenges conventional wisdom about the nature of work and employment in the modern economy.
Book Summaries
How to Take Smart Notes – Quick Summary
1-Sentence Description of How to Take Smart Notes by Sönke Ahrens The key to good and efficient writing lies in the intelligent organization of ideas and notes. --- --- **Work as if writing is the only thing that matters**.
Book Summaries
Highlights of The Crowd by Gustave Le Bon (7/10)
The reason is, that the most attentive observation of the facts of history has invariably demonstrated to me that social organisms being every whit as complicated as those of all beings, it is in no wise in our power to force them to undergo on a sudden far-reaching transformations.