Freud's Civilization and its Discontents question I'm…
0 reactions
Freud's Civilization and its Discontents question
I'm reading this now and enjoying it. Freud was a brilliant thinker, no doubt. I'm having trouble figuring out what he meant in one section of text though. If anyone can shed light on it I would be grateful. Here it is:
Over and above the tasks of restricting the instincts, which we are prepared for, there forces itself on our notice the danger of a state of things which might be termed ‘the psychological poverty of groups’. This danger is most threatening where the bonds of a society are chiefly constituted by the identification of its members with one another, while individuals of the leader type do not acquire the importance that should fall to them in the formation of a group. The present cultural state of America would give us a good opportunity for studying the damage to civilization which is thus to be feared. But I shall avoid the temptation of entering upon a critique of American civilization; I do not wish to give an impression of wanting myself to employ American methods.
#entertainment
I'm reading this now and enjoying it. Freud was a brilliant thinker, no doubt. I'm having trouble figuring out what he meant in one section of text though. If anyone can shed light on it I would be grateful. Here it is:
Over and above the tasks of restricting the instincts, which we are prepared for, there forces itself on our notice the danger of a state of things which might be termed ‘the psychological poverty of groups’. This danger is most threatening where the bonds of a society are chiefly constituted by the identification of its members with one another, while individuals of the leader type do not acquire the importance that should fall to them in the formation of a group. The present cultural state of America would give us a good opportunity for studying the damage to civilization which is thus to be feared. But I shall avoid the temptation of entering upon a critique of American civilization; I do not wish to give an impression of wanting myself to employ American methods.
#entertainment
| 4,000 mlx | |
| 9 | |
| 0 |