Freud and Happiness - Essay Example

Freud and Happiness Most people desire to be happy in life and this proposition can be viewed as definitive and true. Yes, the desire for happiness in life is paramount and the vast majority would say that the ultimate purpose for life is happiness. Happiness is not objective, it is subjective, and it can vary from person to person depending on their understanding or perspective of happiness (Freud 16). There are those who may consider happiness as the concept of their own well-being including self-satisfaction, their own preservation and promotions and their safety. Others view happiness as the well-being and comfort of their loved ones, their society or the human race in general. Sigmund Freud in Civilisation and its Discontent argues that true happiness is not achievable in civilisation (Freud 22). Today, it is evident that humankind is surrounded or is living in civilisation and it is almost impossible for man to survive without it. According to Freud mankind can only attain security both physically and psychologically through civilisation. He says that civilisation through science helps man overcome his naturally aggressive form that ensures that he does not hurt others and others do not hurt him. In this sense, man feels protected and more secure and thus gets some form of happiness and contentment. Freud puts across his idea of happiness by showing that sexual pleasure is the highest form of happiness an individual can experience (Nicholi 11). It might seem controversial but it has some sense in it and thus he argues that the most fundamental thing for man to do is search for happiness in the very path they first came across it. The mystery persists because the overcoming of man’s aggressive nature limits his happiness that is attained through fulfilling his instincts. Civilisation limits man’s instincts and drives thus greatly reducing his chances of being happy. In Freud’s version of man’s instincts and drives, man is somehow aggressive and arrogant. This type of aggression and arrogance cannot be allowed in civilisation. He gives an example that civilisation demands that man marry and have sex with only one woman whereas man’s desires and drives are erotic and aggressive and would want to sleep with as many women as he would want. In this case, he argues that civilisation affords man security and freedom from pain (which brings limited happiness) but it enslaves him in inevitable quietness and unhappiness. Freud further says that there is no any definite or standard single source of happiness in this world and this is why to a great extent he does not agree with religion especially Christianity as a source of happiness (Nicholi 28). He however says that one being part of civilisation does not deny him all chances of happiness. He points out that somehow man would be consistently happy living without civilisation but also says that there would automatically be instances of pain and suffering due to absence of security and safety. Christianity provides that the only source of true and lasting happiness be in GOD, but, Freud find this misplaced because he argues that the religious man is limited by religion and cannot fulfil his desires (Freud “The Future…“210). He says that the non-religious man is free to pursue his pleasure and happiness. The question that lingers in my mind is how life would be like be like in a Freud’s fashion world where everyone is in pursuit of their own happiness without caring what impact it would have on other people’s life and happiness. Freud views civilisation and human rules and regulations as the greatest impediment towards attaining ultimate happiness. Someone once said that the purpose of life is usefulness and happiness, and the question of the purpose of life has been asked severally, and probably attracts debates, and relative answers depending on who answers the question and their understanding and perspective. If we just divert our attention to the more fundamental thing of observing how men behave with their lives, what do they really seek in life? The answer to this query is intuitive. Man not only wants to get happiness but get sustainable happiness and in abundance. This concept just like a coin has two phases, the first phase that is of absence of pain and suffering and the other phase that is of experiencing strong feelings of pleasure and contentment in life. The concept of the purpose of life is deeply entrenched in the pleasure principle that dominates the operation of the human mind from the very beginning (Lewis 62). There is no doubt in its potency and efficiency but surprisingly it is given no space in the civilized world, and everything seems to be acting against it. Happiness is described as the sudden satisfaction of demand and desire that has largely been limited by civilisation. For instance if a hungry street boy seeks to satisfy himself with fruits from a nearby farm or market without money, it is termed a crime. This clearly shows how happiness has been restricted by our own constitution (Freud and Strachey 101). Unhappiness is somehow difficult to explain but we are essentially prone to suffering from three different sources that include our own bodies whose result is decay, the external world that threatens destruction against us and finally from the relationships we have with other men in our life (Lewis 80). Somehow, the suffering that we get from the last source seems the most painful though it is no worse than the suffering from any other source. This is why sometimes people tend to moderate their claims for happiness in that some people consider a narrow escape from unhappiness as happiness. Unlimited and unrestricted satisfaction of one’s needs comes as the most enticing way of conducting your life but of course not without consequences. This means giving pleasure a priority to caution but this attracts a punishment and regret, and the suffering that emanates from the external world can only be avoided by turning away from it. I n the relationships that we have with others this can only be contained by subduing the nature of man via civilisation. Suffering can be described as a sensation and does not last forever; it only exists as much as we feel it. Freud in his work says that religion is one of the human modes that man uses to try to distance and soothe him from the existing suffering in the world. He further argues that this feeling of seeking refuge in religion is comparable to a child’s feeling of insecurity and need of a father. The child later realise the reality it was trying to distant itself from is inevitable and has to be dealt with. According to Freud, the dreaming of human beings brings about civilisation. He adds that civilisation is a tool that the human populace uses to protect itself against unhappiness and yet it is the greatest source of unhappiness. Civilisation has only brought a mixed solution for the human being. People have many issues with the laws that are set by the society and to some it is a great burden that prevents them from attaining happiness. Freud points out that the paramount reason for society is to bring happiness but he does in fact agree that civilisation has to compromise happiness in order for it to attain its fundamental goal of ensuring peaceful coexistence among human beings. This is the prime reason why people are subjected to laws and culture that are products of man’s imagination in the levels of order, control hygiene, governance and social organisation. Freud compares the growth of civilisation to the libidinal development in an individual that is of course inspired by factors like the need for order and hygiene, conversion of human instincts into useful deeds and actions and a restrictive rejection of instincts (Freud “An Outline of…” 93). Freud views restrictive rejection of instincts as the main concept of civilisation that seeks to circumvent natural processes, feelings and development of humankind. May be this is the reason why civilisation brings a feeling of unhappiness and discontentment among people living in the world of civilisation. Freud deeply discusses civilisation including its chronological development which he dates back to the days man learnt how to stand upright. He drives a hypothesis Taboo and culture that is derived from an ancient drama in which brothers conspired to kill their father and then created a set of rules to restrict such ambivalent and evil instinctual desires (Freud “Totem And Taboo“ 58). The policy of one wife and sexual partner has diffused into all cultures all in a bid to restrict affection and even saying that there is inhibited love and affection. Freud argues that the natural lifestyle of humankind is unrestricted affection and love that is very essential and necessary for social cohesion yet the society puts laws to restrict it. He says that there exists a strong feeling of affection among all human beings and that while this can be tapped by society to bind its members it has a tendency of acting in a negative manner. He acknowledges that there exists an ill will that is impossible to revoke within the human heart and hence the essence of restriction of affection by civilisation. There is also the concept of death drive in which he says that man’s life is doomed to destruction and death (a view that he admits might be very hard to accept). He argues that the suppression of these instincts is the very genesis of civilization (Freud “The Future …“148). The natural aggressive form of the human child is suppressed by the society and subdued against the ego, and this causes the development of the super ego now known as conscience that punishes the ego for wrongdoing bringing a feeling of remorse and for sins that it has fantasised about thus bringing a feeling of guilt. Guilt and remorse that are products of instinctual restriction and suppression is the price human beings have to pay for peaceful coexistence. It is clear that as the community grows and expands, there is a tendency of its members becoming more dependent on each other and wanting to be loved in a bid to avoid pain and suffering and seeks pleasure and happiness in life. In this process people, somehow change their true desires and tend to embrace others a process called sublimation. In this case, people tend to convince their mind that their desires are others other than their real desires. Some people use creative art and other activities such as music and games to substitute their frustrated or so to speak unaccomplished desires. These activities seek to alleviate the effects of guilt that causes pain and suffering. If we do not feel guilt, we cannot be punished and this is the reason why the society greatly values such activities. Freud says that civilisation is the conflict between Eros and Thanatos that he greatly supports in his work (Freud and Gay 60). He shows how human kind is naturally aggressive and erotic but civilisation strives to limit the aggressive an erotic nature of man. He argues that these aggressive primary instincts of man are natural and should not be limited or suppressed in order to attain maximum happiness. He also touches on matters of religion whereby he attacks religion terming it as delusional and infantile. He says that the purpose of life is not redemption after death but it is happiness and pleasure, and further shows how religion is an impediment to natural attainment of happiness and pleasure giving an example of adultery in Christianity. He says that civilisation acts contrary to nature and is thus a reason for displeasure among people. Happiness is the immediate fulfilment of desire that is greatly limited by the restriction taboos and laws put across by man all in an effort to tame the aggressive, animal like behaviour of man (Freud “Totem and Taboo” 92) It is worth noting that Freud does not give a conclusion in his work but he leaves it open for the readers to conclude for themselves. Just like unhappiness, happiness is a sensation that comes with contentment. There is no standard or definite measure of happiness and contentment, but it varies from person to person and one can choose to be happy or not by taming their instincts not by civilisation but by inspiration of peaceful coexistence and unity. Works Cited Freud, Sigmund, "Civilization and Its Discontents", New York: Pober Publishing Company, 2010.  Print. Freud, Sigmund and Gay, Peter ed.  The Freud Reader, W. W. Norton & Company, 1995. print Freud, Sigmund and Strachey, ed The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XXI (1927-1931), THE HOGARTH PRESS. 1961. Print.  Nicholi, Armand. C. S. Lewis & Sigmund Freud Debate,Love, God, Sex And The Meaning Of Life. Free Press, New York. 2002. Print. Lewis, C .S. The Problem Of Pain. New York City: Harper Collins e-books.2009. Print. Freud, Sigmund. The Future Of An Illusion. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.2010. Print. Freud, Sigmund. An Outline of Psychoanalysis. Eastford, CT: Martino Fine Books.2010. Print. Freud, Sigmund. Totem and Taboo. Mineola, New York: DOVER PUBN Incorporated.2011. Print. Read More