Sunday, 23 October 2011
The Pursuit of Happiness?
According to Sigmund Freud civilization is condemned to discontent. Freud believes that humans are dangerous and violent creatures that need to be controlled and contained. Society controls and contains humans and diverts us from our natural violent nature. Edward Bernays found a way to contain the violent humans through consumerism. Every primal instinct that humans have is met through prescribing meaning to inanimate objects. Furthermore, society also contains humans with its laws and social norms. Certain taboos restrain humans and their needs. The deep inner desires of humans are repressed within the id. The id contains all our horrible and shameful wants and desires, and if fully released would result in chaos. The ego represses the id and conforms to societies norms. Thus, humankind have a general hatred towards society. Also, this is why we punish those that are different so severely. For example, a gay man is subjected to harsh treatment and ostracized from his peers. The other members in society do this because this man represents their repressed desires. They are afraid of the new emotions that this man brings up within them. They are confused because these thoughts are not allowed, they are meant to be repressed. This is also true in the case of lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender people. They cause an arise of forbidden emotions in people. Thus, they are the victims of various punishments from others. People are constantly conscious of their emotions and what is normal and what is not. When they are made aware of something not normal they chop it down at its roots, afraid of what havoc it may cause. This constant paranoia is why humans can never truly be happy. We have to preserve our civilization, as it is the only way for humans to control themselves. Otherwise, the primal instinct will take over and their will be chaos everywhere. In order to have civilization it is vital for humans to remain discontent. Of course, we do not see ourselves as continuously unhappy. We make do with the objects that we buy. If I buy a new jacket it'll make me feel better about myself. This mentality is why we spend the way we do. We no longer buy for need, we buy for want. However, this does not allow us to be happy. Have you ever been content with just one nice pair of shoes? I haven't, and I doubt I'll be content with all the shoes in the world. The repression of the id leaves a void that will never be filled, no matter how many shoes I buy. Humans will never be happy as long as we repress our true selves. However, would the chaos created be worth the happiness?
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Good work, Avneet! Your strong analysis is clarified by your use of examples. You show how these Freudian concepts are relevant to us today.
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