R: Repress Freud

Thursday, September 13th at 7.30pm

Sigmund Freud made a name for himself with his contributions to psychoanalysis and his theories attributing mental illness to repressed sexual episodes during childhood. Many of his views on such medical topics now roundly debunked, he is still widely respected for laying down the foundations of modern psychology - and for his provoking political philosophy. In 1929, Freud published Civilization and Its Discontents, outlining a startling view of human history. Human conflict is not necessarily focused on the capitalist oppressor and the proletarian victim, but rather on society and the individual. The former wants to impose conformity and a crushing order, while the latter wants freedom and opportunities for expression of individuality. 

Despite his atheism, he argued that religion has worked to keep civilization intact by fostering communal values. This functions as a paradox, because while an ordered society is necessary to keep man's aggresive sexual and belligerent impulses in check, it is also the source of man's discontent and frustration. Was Freud right? Are we battling a war of conflicting desires within ourselves? Are we nothing but crazed monsters that make due living our wretched lives of quasi-fulfillment, forbidden by our own understanding of our destructive capabilities from seeking to be the ÜBERMENSCH? Or, has dear Sigmund completely misunderstood human nature? Join us in the Berkeley Mendenhall Room this Thursday at 7:30 p.m. as we defend and debunk the theories of the great practioner of modern psychology.