Freud Civilization And It's Discontents Essay

In his book Civilization and it’s Discontents, Sigmund Freud makes the assertion that virtuous people suffer more than vicious people. He argues that this happens because virtuous people feel guilty when they fail to meet rules and because they are usually taken advantage of by vicious people. I will attempt to show that Freud is correct and the good do suffer more.
For the most part, humans will act according to their nature which is simply a cost/benefit analysis. Since humans strive to gain pleasure and avoid pain they will take actions that grant them the most pleasure for the least pain. People judge actions based on this simple cost/benefit analysis to gain the things they desire in the most expedient way. If taking something from someone

The natural consequence of this desire is society for two specific reasons. First is the permanent presence of sexual desire. In most animals, sexual desire only happens at specific times. The female’s sexual desire increases during her heat and her body produces pheromones that arouse a male’s sexual desire. The two fulfill their desires and typically go their separate ways. However, since sexual desire is always present in humans, male humans are inclined to keep a female companion around permanently. The second reason is that human offspring are helpless for many years. A human female is inclined to seek out a strong protector for her offspring. The combination of sexual desire and the need for protection is the reason for the family. By having a family and thus discovering that certain tasks are easier with helpers, humans began to grow in association with others and this was the beginning of

Conversely, a bad or vicious person is one who disregards the rules. Civilization often attempts to classify these behaviors as natural or obvious but in fact they are conditioned. Because human nature cannot be fully suppressed, individuals will eventually break one of the rules. Even if they do not, a virtuous person, whose desire it is to follow the rules, will internalize this social conditioning to the point where they suffer guilt when those internalized rules inevitably conflict with their subconscious inner desires. It is important to understand that guilt comes from intentions and not necessarily