Review: Civilization and Its Discontents

Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was a fascinating read, even though I disagreed with some of his ideas. He did an excellent job of explaining how romantic/sexual love, aggression, and the desire for community motivate people. Also, he addressed some of the potential flaws of Marxist theory, which is that human beings by instinct want to own their own property and strive for success. I am surprised that he did not address another major element of human nature, though, which is the desire for humans to feel that they are a part of something greater than themselves. I am not an Atheist, and Freud was, so perhaps we look at this element of human nature differently. However, as much as he contributed to the fields of psychiatry and psychology, I'm surprised that he did not address this. He discussed our desire for connection with others, but what about with the rest of the universe? I found that I was left with a lot of questions after reading this book, which in some ways is good because it made me think. I was also interested to read his history: He had to leave Vienna during his elderly years to escape the Nazi occupation (he was Jewish by heritage), and he escaped to Paris and London to do his later work.
In 1908, Freud wrote an essay about creative writers and daydreaming. I really want to read this essay. As a kid in school, the only things I ever got in trouble for were: 1. being late to class (rarely) and 2. daydreaming (frequently, at least in elementary school; I learned to be more subtle about it in middle and high school). This is a side of his work that I definitely want to explore, as he seemed interested in the creative person's psyche.

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