In the introductory paragraphs, Freud attempts to understand the spiritual phenomenon of a so-called 'oceanic' feeling - the sense of boundlessness and oneness felt between the ego and the outside world. This feeling is 'a purely subjective fact, not an article of faith.' It does not betoken an allegiance to a specific religion, but instead points to the source of religious sentiment in human beings. Churches and religious institutions are adept at channeling this sentiment into particular belief systems, but they do not themselves create it.In general, the ego perceives itself as maintaining 'sharp and clear lines of demarcation' with the outside world. This distinction between inside and outside is a crucial part of the process of psychological development, allowing the ego to recognize a 'reality' separate from itself.
“Civilization and Its Discontents is one of Sigmund Freud’s darkest texts, offering an analysis of culture by reflecting on the place of death in a person’s life. Todd Dufresne’s thoughtful edition showcases the full relevance of this text for a historical, philosophical, and psychoanalytical reading by adding an informative.
After summarizing his previous research, Freud returns to the question of 'oceanic' feeling, finding it unconvincing as an explanation of the source of religious sentiment in human beings. Instead, according to Freud, it is a longing for paternal protection in childhood that continues into adult life as a sustained 'fear of the superior power of Fate.' In Future of an Illusion, Freud lamented the common man's preoccupation with the 'enormously exalted father' embodied by God. The idea of placating a supposedly higher being for future recompense seems utterly infantile and absurd.
The reality is, however, that masses of men persist in this illusion for the duration of their lives. According to Freud, men exhibit three main coping mechanisms to counter their experience of suffering in the world: 1) deflection of pain and disappointment (through planned distractions); 2) substitutive satisfactions (mainly through the replacement of reality by art); 3) intoxicating substances. Freud concludes that religion cannot be clearly categorized within this schema.What does man wish for and aim to achieve in life? Religious belief hinges on this central question. Most immediately, men strive to be happy, and their behavior in the outside world is determined by this 'pleasure principle.' But the possibilities for happiness and pleasure are limited, and more often we experience unhappiness from the following three sources: 1) our body; 2) the external world; and 3) our relations to other men. We employ various strategies to avoid displeasure: by isolating ourselves voluntarily, becoming a member of the human community (i.e.
Contributing to a common endeavor), or influencing our own organism. Religion dictates a simple path to happiness. It thereby spares the masses of their individual neuroses, but Freud sees few other benefits in religion.After looking specifically at religion, Freud broadens his inquiry into the relationship between civilization and misery. One of his main contentions is that civilization is responsible for our misery: we organize ourselves into civilized society to escape suffering, only to inflict it back upon ourselves. Freud identifies three key historical events that produced this disillusionment with human civilization: 1) the victory of Christendom over pagan religions (and consequently the low value placed on earthly life in Christian doctrine); 2) the discovery and conquest of primitive tribes and peoples, who appeared to Europeans to be living more happily in a state of nature; 3) scientific identification of the mechanism of neuroses, which are caused by the frustrating demands put on the individual by modern society. An antagonism toward civilization developed when people concluded that only a reduction of those demands - in other words, withdrawal from the society that imposed them - would lead to greater happiness.Freud defines civilization as the whole sum of human achievements and regulations intended to protect men against nature and 'adjust their mutual relations.'
A 'decisive step' toward civilization lies in the replacement of the individual's power by that of the community. This substitution henceforth restricts the possibilities of individual satisfaction in the collective interests of law and order.