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.