Freud: Civilization and

Its Discontents (Pt 2)

VITTORIA ORLANDO
Most Important Concept: Guilt

“Hence we know of two sources for feelings of guilt: that arising from the dread of
authority and the later one from the dread of the superego. The first compels us to
renounce instinctual gratification; the other presses over and above this toward
punishment, since the persistence of forbidden wishes cannot be concealed from the
super-ego.”
Inertia of Libido

 Idealized version of Utopia – unattainable

 Freud’s idea of Utopia
 “Love thy neighbor as thyself”
 Capitalism makes this also unattainable because of competition between neighbors
Aggression and The Death Instinct

 People are innately aggressive

 Authority/Society forces people to suppress impulses deemed “bad” by that
authority

 The Death Instinct

 Fusion of destruction, erotism, sadism, and masochism
 Not all aggression is sexual
 People use the Devil as a scapegoat for wrong doings
Conscience, Guilt, Remorse

Conscience
 Pre-Conscious renunciation of an impulse
Guilt
 Super-ego, fear of judgement
 Consciously battling the potential consequences of acting out of favor
Remorse
 Feeling of guilt that exists after the crime has been committed
The Oedipus Complex

 Authority forces the suppression of aggression long enough that it builds up and
eventual retaliates
Current Social Issue