Freud And Happiness Essay, Research Paper

Born in 1856 in a small European town, Sigmund Freud would grow to be one of the most important thinkers in recorded history. From a young age, he attempted to understand the human mind and explain its tendencies. In doing so, he successfully managed to make countless enemies and critics. His ideas in response to the puzzles of human existence often conflicted with those of his audience, and I am in this number. In his novel Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud presents theories on happiness, none of with which I agree.

Freud describes happiness, understood by us as pleasure, as everyone’s main goal in life. According to Freud, all humans “strive after happiness; they want to become happy and remain so”(25). Mankind struggles in everything to avoid feelings of displeasure and pain while attempting to experience feelings of joy and delight. Freud named this concept the pleasure principle, and he thought it to be the gist of life.

I, on the other hand, do not believe that the pleasure principle is everyone’s driving force. First of all, people have different goals in life, starting with the most basic goal of survival. Besides that, though, people seek love, praise, wealth, and reproduction. However, different people do not hold these goals in equal esteem because no one is the same. Secondly, the need for happiness is important, but not vital. We can survive if we are not always experiencing pleasure, but for some individuals, sterility is devastating, and for others, the loss of love can lead to suicide.

Freud believed that the pleasure principal is prevalent in humans at all times but can never be satisfied. He said that the “principle dominates the operation of the mental apparatus from the start”(25). Right when we are born, the pleasure principle is working inside of us. As infants, we cry if we are hungry or in pain, and we enjoy the warmth and security of our mother’s arms. Day in and day out, we search for pleasure, but happiness cannot be permanently fulfilled. Instead, “Unhappiness is much less difficult to experience”(26). Freud believed that the world is imperfect and obtaining excellence is impossible. We can come close to complete contentment, but uncontrollable factors will never allow us to be completely happy.

In contrast, I believe that we are not motivated by goals until we are older and true delight is possible. First of all, as young children, we cry when hungry because, instinctively, we know that we need food to survive. This reaction seen in all children has nothing to do with their enjoyment of their nourishment. We do not necessarily enjoy our mother’s warmth; our bodies just cannot endure the cold. Secondly, my biggest problem concerns Freud’s denial of the possibility of true delight. I believe that humans go through undulating stages of happiness and discontentment. Many times I have awoke for an early morning jog with nothing on my mind but the crisp morning air and the soft glow of the sunrise. In this setting I always felt totally free and blissful. However, hours later I have to struggle through an English paper, and I am totally miserable. I believe that we can be completely happy and that an ultimate goal is to end life while on top of a wave.

Civilization was thought to be responsible for man’s inability to be happy, but Freud argued otherwise. Many people of his time wanted to return to primitive life, but Freud instead claimed that “contention astonishing”(38). He blamed three others factors for man’s discontents. They included bodily pain, forces of nature, and relationships. Freud concluded that man could never successfully master these three. They are untamable aspects of life that dominate the population and prevent the fulfillment of the pleasure principal.

In my opinion, civilization is the main cause for man’s unhappiness. Simplicity is the key to joy. The stress involved with keeping schedules and making decisions is getting worse with the advancement of civilization. Paying bills, fighting traffic, and making money are civilized requirements that make people miserable. In response, people spend thousands of dollars on vacations where they escape the hell of everyday life. A tale I once heard explains this dilemma completely. While in a small fishing village, a wealthy businessman meets a poor angler that only fishes to feed his family and spends the rest of his day relaxing with his children. The businessman goes on to tell the fisherman how he can work hard and save money to buy another boat. Then, over the course of many years, he can keep expanding his business to the corporate level, sell shares of his company, and retire rich. After that, he can move to a quaint village on the sea, fish a little in the morning, and relax the rest of the day with his family. Civilization is a trap and is the main cause of human suffering. Freud’s three reasons for misery are relevant, but not as obvious as civilization.

Finally, Freud hypothesized that modern technology does not help to fulfill the pleasure principal. He said “most of these satisfactions follow the model of . . . ‘cheap enjoyment’”(40). That is, they provide pleasure, but not for long. We are soon to come off of our technological high and back into the unavoidable rigors of the world. Also, he said that technological advances are merely there to make up for old advances. For instance, during the 1920s, the telephone was fairly new. People enjoyed being able to talk to displaced loved ones from far away. However, if certain modes of transportation had not been invented before the phone, then the relatives would not be gone and the phone would be obsolete. Even though he stood up for civilization, Freud still believed that technology inhibited the fulfillment of the pleasure principal.

I feel that modern technology is making our lives easier by giving us breaks from civilization. Through the use of modern tools, we are able to complete tasks quicker, leaving more personal time. For example, the Internet allows students easy access to information for projects, term papers, and the like. Before, students had to spend more time in libraries and bookstores to find information that is now available from home in a matter of seconds. Modern technology is based on making life easier.

Sigmund Freud and I have our differences concerning happiness. However, the magnificent thinker was not trying to prove to the world that he was right. Curiosity led him to analyze the human mind, and he was generous enough to publish his beliefs. Because of the genius from Freiburg, people are forced to think about their lives and their minds.

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