Civilized Guilt

“…this seems the most important of all, it is impossible to overlook the extent to which civilization is built up upon a renunciation of instinct, how much it presupposes precisely the non-satisfaction of powerful instincts” (51). This key statement underlines the poignant issues addressed by Sigmund Freud in his work Civilization and Its Discontents. Freud goes on to declare that, “the price we pay for our advance in civilization is a loss of happiness through the heightening of the sense of guilt” (97). These bold claims emphasize the psychological harm that is incurred by living in society. But how did Freud reach such dramatic conclusions? To fully understand Freud’s reasoning, one must examine his line of argumentation step by step.

In Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud delineates two fundamental instincts underlying human nature. The first, Eros, is defined as, “the whole complex of life-preservative instincts,” and is most strongly represented in the book by the libido, or sex drive (Reber 259). It is the Eros that ties human beings together, forming sexual unions and friendships (Freud uses the term “aim-inhibited affection” to bring out the more socialized aspect of the latter; Freud 57). Freud ultimately goes on to say that, “civilization is a process in service of the Eros, whose purpose is to combine single human individuals, and after that families, then races, peoples, and nations, into one great unity, the unity of mankind” (Freud 81).

The second instinct, which Freud terms simply the “instinct of death,” he goes on in later works to describe as the Thanatos (Freud 77). In this particular text, the Thanatos is best represented by the aggressive instinct. Freud supports this hypothesized entity by stating, “Anyone who calls to mind the atrocities committed” in the course of human history “will have to bow humbly before the truth of this claim” (Freud 69). He goes on to contrast the two primary instincts; “man’s natural aggressive instinct opposes this programme of civilization… the evolution of civilization… must present the struggle between Eros and (Thanatos)” (Freud 82).

Moving from these two precepts, one can track the course of human development as it coincides with socialization. According to psychoanalytic theory, infants begin life as beings of pure instinct, completely ignorant of pressures internal or external. From that point on, however, both Eros and Thanatos undergo several important and somewhat dramatic transformations as a result of the intervention of external forces. One change in particular is of interest to the text, the development of the superego.

It is within the first few years of life that a child begins to develop a superego. The toddler, being completely dependent upon his parents, fears their disapproval. The logic is simple enough; if a mother slaps the child’s hand and iterates “no” in a harsh tone, the child fears that her love and support has fled. This, naturally, is a major source of distress for the youth, who is entirely dependent and knows no other means of survival. Thus the ego, faced with the prospect of an unfulfilled id, redirects the aggressive impulses of the Thanatos back upon itself as the superego. This creates an added buffer against the intrusions of the id and thereby ensures the support of the parents.

Naturally, this arrangement has severe detriments. As Freud states, “Civilization… obtains mastery over the individual’s dangerous desire for aggression by weakening and disarming it and by setting up an agency within him to watch over it, like a garrison in a conquered city” (Freud 84). The superego misdirects and sublimates the individual’s normal aggressive instincts, leading to the masochism so characteristic of guilt and remorse. The newly changed individual is now ready to enter society.

One must question, however, whether or not civilization is worth the cost. If indeed guilt is an unnatural emotion born out of, shall we say, the common neurosis of the superego, why not simply discard it as the unnecessary and painful entity it is? As Freud points out early on and as many great thinkers before him have emphasized, human beings are hedonists (Freud 25). This point can, of course, be debated ad infinitum, but no sound logic could refute that happiness is important to us. Given that guilt, and by extension the superego, impedes our pursuit of happiness, why submit ourselves to it?

One might very easily argue that the cost in sanity is worth the gains in civilization. As Freud counters, however, “pessimistic criticism… warns us that most of these satisfactions follow the model of the ‘cheap enjoyment’ extolled in the anecdote - the enjoyment obtained by putting a bare leg from under the bedclothes on a cold winter night and drawing it in again” (Freud 40). Quite simply, civilization causes many of the problems it corrects, and may even impede more natural means of progress. Again one must ask if civilization is really worth bearing the superego.

Perhaps the only feasible explanation from the standpoint of psychoanalysis is in favor of the Eros. Civilization, while it might hinder us in other ways, does offer more opportunities for the fulfillment of libidinal instincts. As Freud points out, aim-inhibited affection, while not as gratifying as genital love, is less “dangerously dependent” on uncontrollable external factors (Freud 56). So while we are turning our aggressive instincts against ourselves, at least we garnish gains for the Eros as a result.

Whether or not Freud’s claims can be validated is a point of hot philosophical as well as scientific debate. And if the problems he describes actually exist, finding a solution would prove to be a monumental task at best. Nonetheless, Freud’s views remain highly provocative and worthy of inquiry to the present day.

Resources

Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. New York, NY: W.W. Norton & Co., 1989.

Reber, Arthur S. The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1995.