I had this book for quite some time,
7 or 8 years perhaps. Never got to read it until last week. I bought this book
because of my interest in history and I wanted to find out how civilization per
se and the history that it wrought is influenced by the “mind”. Well, I should
say that I got my answer but I still have question at the back of my head that I
can’t discern for the moment and I have a lot to digest. Anyway, here is what I
think about the book. First of all, Freud is a German Jew and doesn’t write or
speak English and so this book is a translation only and something might be
lost in translation. By how much, I don’t really know. Second, the words chosen
in the writing though not strictly technical nor flowery but is of such
formality, depth, and smoothness that one would “get lost” from reading and end
up not understanding a single word. Reading a second time would definitely
help. Furthermore, the sentences, the paragraphs are so intertwined, so
connected to each other that one cannot leave the reading in the middle and
pick it up later on because one would get lost in the chain of thought as
expounded in the writings. You can only take a pause literally on every chapter
which is like 10 – 20 pages per chapter. Thirdly, most authors would embark
writing a book especially a work of fiction with a skeletal outline in mind
along with an ending. They “stuffed the meat” while writing along the way. Reading
Freud’s work, one get sense that he is making things up as he goes as in
literally, you are “riding along” in his thought process which is why putting
down the book in mid – sentence poses such peril in understanding the genius’
work. One could discern this by the several hanging analysis, thought dead ends
littered throughout in his book. It’s like reading a psychoanalytical monologue
of Freud by Freud. Fourthly, I find Freud overtly concern about sexuality and
eroticism to be questionable. Freud’s obsession is expected given his advocacy
that sexual tension is the undercurrent of the individual’s psychosis. However,
I do have doubts about it. I mean Oedipus Complex, Anal Eroticism, Obsession of
the Breast all those stuff though could explain the functioning of civilization
itself but is there more to it? I can’t tell after all I’m not a psychiatrist. Lastly,
Freud is a Jew and yet he is overtly critical about Christianity (Abrahamic
religion) in particular, and religion in general. However, I find in his
writings, a whiff of influence of Christianity. His theoretical development of
the Super – ego or in layman’s term, the guilty conscience as one of the fundamental
structure in human psychosis smacked of a Christian influence. In other belief
systems, the idea of “judgement” doesn’t exist. If Freud were not born into a “western”
value oriented society, would he develop the idea of the Super – ego?
Freud’s work is remarkable in the
sense that he is trying to connect individual psychosis with that of
civilization’s behavior. His work is akin to the Grand Unified Theory in
Physics, which is still elusive as of now.
In physics, there is a set of laws that could best describe that of the
Quantum universe or the universe of the Atom and another set to understand the
Cosmos or the visible universe of the planets, stars, wormholes, black holes,
and dark matter and the these two sets of laws are not interchangeable, i.e.,
one cannot apply the Quantum theory to the Cosmos and vice versa. Hence,
Physicists are trying to come up with a theoretical framework, the Grand
Unified Theory that could reconcile the two and for the moment, it is still
elusive. Freud’s book on the other hand, manages to connect psychology (for the
individual) and sociology (for society or civilization). In Freud’s theory, Man
is happiest when his freedom is at its maximum when he encounters no
opposition, no challenge, no limitation, i.e., when he is alone however, no man
can live alone because Man is susceptible to the vicissitudes of Nature, to the
frailties and gradual decay of his flesh, and for his need to love and be love.
Henceforth, Man has to cohabitate with other Man in order to increase his
safety and answer is longing to be with someone and in the process, this
cohabitation creates Civilization. However, rules and compromises have to be made
in order for cohabitation to work and in the end, Man has to voluntarily give
up some of his freedom and restrict his liberty. However, subsuming Man’s
freedom undermines his happiness and as a result, individuals with psychosis are
born and thence, civilization’s discontents. But the story doesn’t stop there,
civilization reinforces this “order” and imposes ideas like rules, tradition,
culture, and religion and the individual integrates this ideas in his
development creating the “conscience” that would be its unseen master for the
rest of his existence which in turn makes individuals unhappy and produces more
“psychotics” and discontents. This reminded me a passage of Jacques Rosseau (or
was it Voltaire, can’t recall) in one of his writings, “Man is born free but is
everywhere in chains.” How true, how true.
No comments:
Post a Comment