Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud both try to explain the ideas of morality and the becomings of such a social construct through their analysis and logical dissection of human interaction.While both philosophers strive to explain the same phenomenon that is morality, their focus on the causes and effects of such is different. Nietzsche explains his ideas on morality through analyzing the effects of group relationships on people as a whole. He does this through the idea of the “master/slave morality.” On the other hand, Freud talks of morality on a more psychological level. His concepts of the id, ego, and super-ego all attempt to explain the workings of morality as a resultant of society. However, they agree on the idea that there is a …show more content…
regulation of aggression, which requires an outlet. This outlet happens to be the possessor of such emotions. They believe it is human instinct to satiate this hunger and humans will do whatever they can to sate it. However, due to the regulations the only way to sate it is to take it out on oneself. Despite Nietzsche and Freud talking of morality in slightly varying ways, their conclusions and overarching themes of morality are similar; morality is the regulation of instinctual aggression. Nietzsche takes a look at morality in the eyes of a master and slave relationship. He believes the first master/slave relationship to be the origin of “good and bad”(Nietzsche, On the Genealogy of Morals, 36-46). Due to the fact that Nietzsche is looking at a relationship between several people, his idea of morality is relative. The master morality is the idea that the masters are good, therefore the slaves are bad because the slaves are not masters. Nietzsche calls this a reaffirmation of their good. Slave morality is a reaction to a hostile external world; slaves see the master as bad (evil) and therefore they assume themselves as good (Nietzsche 39-40). Nietzsche begins to talk about repressing emotions in his second essay. The ideas of the bad conscience and guilt could be seen more so as morality, as these are the expression and repression of certain emotions. One of the most important quotes of the essays, and quite a great explanation of his ideas, is where he states, “To see others suffer does one good, to make others suffer even more: this is a hard saying but an ancient, mighty, human, all-too-human principle [....] Without cruelty there is no festivity…” (Nietzsche, 67) One of the first things to point out with this quote, is that it covers several topics. The first topic it can allude to is the idea of “good and bad.” This would be seen more at the end of the quote, where he states “without cruelty there is no festival.” Having read his ideas on master and slave morality, this is simply stating without the bad (cruelty) we would not be able to distinguish the good (festival). Therefore, to have one, we must have the other. This sums up his whole idea of master and slave morality, since the ideas of good/bad/evil are reactions or byproducts of one another. The first few words portray Nietzsche’s view on humans’ natural instincts. By this Nietzsche is discussing the idea that aggression is a human instinct; to satisfy that instinct would produce positive emotion. “To see others suffer” is the idea of what is happening at this time. Our society has locked away and shunned our aggression, therefore people can merely watch others suffer to satisfy that deep rooted aggressive instinct. This caged instinct is then turned in on the possessor, at which point it begins to gnaw and chew at the person, creating a dark, shameful society (Nietzsche, 67). “To make others suffer” is the idea that acting on that craving would produce an even greater amount of satisfaction. This brings about the concept that when mankind was not ashamed of aggression, it created happier times because the aggression could be willingly vented without repercussion. Having vented this anger, there would be no need to internalize it to the point it turns against the owner. However, this internalization would not produce guilt. Guilt to Nietzsche is produced by the external world as a result of punishment (Nietzsche, 82). All of this is in relation to groups of people, these internalizations are brought about due to society. From this is the birth of morality; many minute concepts that when combined make a standard with which society upholds to repress certain emotions to produce a more peaceful community. Freud shifts his perspective to the individual in his work, Civilization and Its Discontents.
His philosophy brings up ideas such as the id, ego and super-ego. The id would be the brute instinct and nature of humans; aggression (of many instincts this is the one he will focus on). The ego wants to satisfy the natural instincts and act in relation to long term (Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, 26). The super-ego is a portion of the ejected aggression directed inward on the ego; this would be due to external causes such as society, and would reflect the cultural standards set in place. This would position the super-ego to be a moral value over the ego, (Freud, 114). Freud’s view on morality can be seen through the statement, “His aggressiveness is introjected, internalized [....] There it is taken over by a portion of the ego, which sets itself over against the rest of the ego as super-ego….” Morality in general is the regulation of aggression; a function of the super-ego. This would make it reasonable to say the super-ego is the moral values instilled by external forces. Freud would believe that morality is the effect of society. The aggression discussed in this quote would be that natural instinct Freud believes we desire to sate, however is unacceptable due to externalities (the social values set in place at that time). Freud then explains that this aggression is turned inward to the ego (as is the desire to sate aggression), this would present guilt. Guilt is a byproduct of morality; it is the aggression on the aggressor. Morality then could be said to function as a higher order to regulate natural instincts for the betterment of a society. The effects of such are focused much more internally and psychologically; guilt. In relation to the quote, Freud sets up a hierarchy for the levels of our mind. We can see that the id (aggression) would be at the mercy of the ego. The ego is under control by the super-ego. If the ego wanted to sate the aggression, the
super-ego would turn it against itself and sate it that way. This would show that the moral values are the top of this metaphorical pyramid; morality has the final say. Having analyzed both Nietzsche’s and Freud’s view on morality, it should be easier to picture the functions and effects of it. Both Nietzsche and Freud can be seen agreeing on the idea that the natural instinct of destruction needs to be satiated. However, the conflict lies in the fact that society, over the years, have shunned aggression and represses it for the betterment of everyone. Still needing to sate the hunger for destruction, the aggression is then internalized (both philosophers can agree on this) and directed towards oneself. Morality would then be, to both philosophers, that very internalization and the external sources causing that. By choosing not to act on this natural instinct that our ancestors have performed shamelessly, they are creating a higher mental capacity to regulate the aggression. This can be contributed to the idea that modern society has shunned such acts. At this point, in regards to the effects of the internalization, the two philosophers diverge a bit. Nietzsche describes this as a “shame at man,” (Nietzsche, 87), whereas Freud would explain this as being guilt. The difference lies within the idea that Nietzsche’s idea was brought up through society saying the aggression is bad. Freud’s concept is brought up due to the aggression of oneself acting on them; a product of internal conflict. Guilt to Nietzsche is a product of punishment enacted by others. Both, however regulate the natural instincts of man to produce a safer and more harmonious society (despite the fact both would ironically agree society may have been happier in earlier times). Some of the advantages of such a society is that it can be safer. Safety is one of the main reasons people bind together. Without the promise of safety, joining together would not be as a desirable option for people. The downside to morality however, is the fact that the aggression needs to be satisfied sooner or later. Without a way to satisfy this need, as Nietzsche points out, society becomes darker. Based off of Nietzsche’s and Freud’s insight on morality, there is a better understanding of the internal and external causes and effects of morality. This should help produce a more understanding community of itself (as a society) and its members. Morality is merely a social construct set in place to regulate the aggression of members of a society in order to produce a safer community.
The Ego: Realistic acts within the mind and reality (The defence principle) And The Super ego: Sense of conscience, duty and responsibility (The morality principle) Freud believed conflicts occurred between the three parts. He believed that experiences from birth and early childhood had the most impact on behaviour patterns. However, Freud never studied children, which makes some people doubt his theories.
After reading this week’s readings, I decide to focus my attention on Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents, and to briefly touch on pragmatic views. I can see the similarities between the two, were religion, philosophy and science all intertwines, as it relates to finding truth or should I say truth as it relates to achieving certain goals in order to support social values and needs. The implications that what is true, may not necessarily be true, and that any and all knowledge that contributes to human values, can be interpreted as truth. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics should be viewed in terms of their practical uses and successes and that knowledge can be evaluated from the goals that this knowledge is able to support
...e had thoughts of the ideal man stems coming from the anger about his society who treated humans as machines and animals. Freud was more like a therapist for giving every problem for the human’s unhappiness and frustration, solutions to have life that is more livable. Freud saw the inner struggle which was affected by the civilization and society, but believed that there’s potential ways to satisfy one’s self. Unlike Nietzsche who saw the outer struggle not the nature of the human, who focused more on what the society, religion who led to frustration
In Sigmund Freud's observation, humans are mainly ambitious by sexual and aggressive instincts, and search for boundless enjoyment of all needs. However, the continuous pursuit of gratification driven by the identification, or unconscious, directly conflicts with our society as the uncontrolled happiness. Sigmund Freud believed that inherent sexual and aggressive power prevented from being expressed would cause our "society to be miserable and the forfeiture of contentment." Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic view of personality theory is based on the perception that greatly of human behavior is determi...
Nietzsche's critique of religion is largely based on his critique of Christianity. Nietzsche says that in modern Europe, people are atheistic, even though they don't realise it. People who say they are religious aren't really and those who say they have moved on haven't actually moved on. Certain people in society retain features of Christianity. For example, socialists still believe in equality in all people.
He believed everyone is born with the id. All humans when they are babies, according to Freud, are pleasure seeking and concerned with having their needs met. This is the original or unconscious personality. The ego is where decision-making occurs, judgments are made and memory is stored. Lastly, the superego contains the individual’s values, beliefs, and morals, which they get from their parents. According to Freud, women get their morals and beliefs from their mothers and men get it from their fathers. He also believes that...
The concept of mass culture emerged as a philosophical exploration of the question of modernity in relation to individual identities and individuality. As the society progressed from its traditional existence to a modern state, numerous advancements were realized that drastically changed the outlook of the society and its influence on an individual and individual thinking. One of the most important factors that have been an influence in the advancement of modernity is the mass media phenomenon (Landgraf 25). In fact, very few would contend that the institutions within the mass media franchise are crucial aspects of contemporary politics and philosophy. However, philosophers like Nietzsche and Karl Marx had the contention that the mass media had to be considered in light of its effects to the values and institutions of modern societies. Nietzsche’s criticisms is based on the general idea that the values and institutions of modern day society oppress creativity and bodily energies and limit the ability if human beings to function as individuals. This in turn blocks a generation of stronger individuals from emerging in a society that is now characterized by vigor. Friedrich Nietzsche critically appraised the modern age and developed one of the foremost sustainable critiques of mass culture and society, bureaucratic discipline, the state and regimentation. This led to the production of fresh perspectives which later deeply influenced discourse about modernity.
Freud’s basically states in his essay that pedophilia is acceptable if the child is used as an exclusive sexual object, and that children are only used as sexual objects if there is no other options. Freud also continues on to tell the type of individuals that use children as sexual objects, he explains these individuals as cowardly or impotent, which basically gives them an excuse to use
His research on children was lacking, as was his use of empirical studies, his research was male-dominated and also lacked universality. The theory of the id, ego and superego develops from birth into childhood; therefore, the use of case studies on adults and the lack of empirical study does not seem feasible enough to have developed this theory. First of all there is no guarantee that the memories of these adults in their childhood would be accurate, there was not any factual, re-testable data so it lacked reliability and validity, secondly each case and person’s experience is different and therefore cannot be used to determine the development of an entire population. Freud’s theory was further biased due to him overlooking social and environmental aspects, which prevent universality; he was a European man who researched other upper middle class Europeans whose everyday living and circumstances differed greatly from others in society.
...s. Throughout the stages of development Freud argues that the powerful human influence came from the parents. Piaget believed that peers are as important or more important than parents are. They both agree that a young child is affected by his parents’ standards, but he is not simply a passive recipient of those standards. Piaget did seem to build on one of Freud’s ideas in that while Freud was only interested in moral feelings like guilt and shame, Piaget expanded his theory to look at the development of moral judgment.
Sigmund Freud was one of the original pioneers in the field of Psychology. The work that he accomplished throughout his lifetime laid a foundation for many theorists after him. The theorists that worked in Psychology, after Freud, were able to form their own thoughts, ideas, and hypotheses about the human mind after learning from his work. Sigmund Freud’s major contribution in the field of Psychology was his theory about the human psyche; which he called the Id, the Ego, and the Super-Ego. This theory was based on the human personality and its formation. Many of Freud’s analysis strategies became common practice in the field of Psychology and are still used today. Sigmund Freud will always be one of the most influential figures in the
“Psychological - or more strictly speaking, psychoanalytic -investigation shows that the deepest essence of human nature, which are similar in all men and which aim at the satisfaction of certain needs... [are] self-preservation, aggression, need for love, and the impulse to attain pleasure and avoid pain...” At its simplest form, this quote perfectly explains Sigmund Freud’s theory on human nature. Human beings, according to Freud, are in a constant state of conflict within themselves; trying to satisfy their animalistic instincts, while also maintaining a socially appropriate life. Freud termed these animalistic tendencies that we have, the Id. The Id is essentially our unconscious mind, it is the part of us that has been there since the day we were born and is what drives our life’s needs and desires. The Id simply aims to satisfy our sexual or aggressive urges immediately, without taking into account any further implications. On the other hand, Freud used the term, the Superego, to describe man’s conscience and sense of morality. It is the Superego’s job to keep the Id in check by combatting the desire to satisfy urges with the feeling of guilt or anxiety. Finally, the Ego, is the conscious representation of the constant battle between the Superego and the Id. It must work to satisfy human’s instinctual tendencies while taking into account their conscience and doing what is rational and acceptable. Freud argues that these internal process that are constantly at work in our mind are what shape humans to do the things that they do. Thus, he believes, the goal of human nature is to satisfy our basic aggressive and sexual desires while adhering to cultural and social standards.
Sigmund Freud believed that society has instilled morality upon us, exterminating our individualism. This morality eventually leads to neurosis, in which it becomes more difficult for us to maintain ourselves through the stress of society’s morality. I disagree with Freud, because I believe that morality isn’t forced on us externally, but internally through reason. As humans developed reason, we also developed a sense of morality through that reason. Freud believes that humans should do what they want because we shouldn’t restrict ourselves on society 's behalf. However, I believe that restriction is an essential part of our character, and allows humanity to advance further than any other race. Morality, like reason, keeps us safe from the
Throughout Freud’s time, he came up with many different theories. One of his theories was Life and Death Instincts. This theory evolved throughout his life and work. He believed that these drives were responsible for much of behavior. He eventually came to believe that these life instincts alone couldn’t explain all human behavior. Freud then determined that all instincts fall into one of 2 major classes: the life instincts or the death instincts. Life instincts deal with basic survival, reproduction, and pleasure. Death instincts are apparent after people experience a traumatic event and they often reenact the experience. In Freud’s view, self-destructive behavior is an expression of the energy that is created by the death instincts.
Over the years, people have wondered what goes on in a person's mind that guides them to meet their needs. Sigmund Freud developed a system of personality that boldly attempts to explain the course of personality and what was it origins. Freud theory assumes that one's personality is shaped and some powerful inner forces motivate one's behavior. According to Freud, personality differences commence from the different ways in which people deal with their underlying drives. By picturing a continuing battle between antagonistic parts of personality, Freud was able to develop three systems that make up the total personality. The three systems of personality are the id, ego, and the superego. If the three systems work together in harmony and unite together to form one complete organization, it enables one to create a positive transaction with the environment. If the systems are fighting with each other, one is said to be dissatisfied with himself or the world. By examining the ego, the id, and the superego, one should see how these three systems of personality play an important role in the development of one's personality. In doing so one should understand what conscious and unconscious, and the functions of the id, ego, and superego.