Civilization and Its Discontents (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781578988594)

Reprint of the 1930 American edition. In this seminal book, Sigmund Freud enumerates the fundamental tensions between civilization and the individual. The primary friction stems from the individual's quest for instinctual freedom and civilization's contrary demand for conformity and instinctual repression. Many of humankind's primitive instincts (for example, the desire to kill and the insatiable craving for sexual gratification) are clearly harmful to the well-being of a human community. As a result, civilization creates laws that prohibit killing, rape, and adultery, and it implements severe punishments if such commandments are broken. This process, argues Freud, is an inherent quality of civilization that instills perpetual feelings of discontent in its citizens.

Author: Sigmund Freud
ISBN-10: 1578988594
ISBN-13: 9781578988594
Publisher: Martino Fine Books
Language: English
Published: 02/05/2010
Pages: 146
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.49lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.34d