This is the fourth and final post in the Goat Rope Fun With Freud series. Here are parts one, two, and three.
This series is about some of Sigmund's more interesting ideas, some of which hold up better than others.
As Freud got older, he became more pessimistic. This is understandable given the events of the time such as the First World War, the rise of totalitarian movements, and the rise of the Nazis to power in Germany and Austria. Here's a quick tour of some of his later works, some of which are speculative and even bizarre in nature.
(Disclaimer: El Cabrero is neither a psychologist nor a Freudian. I think he may have been onto something even if he was wrong on the details. And even when he's out there he's interesting and fun to read.)
*Totem and Taboo (1913). This one is WAY out there. Among other things, in this work Freud speculates that human society had its origin in a primal horde where power and sexual access was monopolized by a father figure. The younger males killed the father, whom they also admired. The guilt that resulted from this led to the dead father being venerated as a sacred figure. This was thought to be the origin of the Oedipal complex, religion, and a whole bunch of stuff. It would be a challenge to find someone today who subscribes to this.
*Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego (1920). If you've ever noticed that group behavior does no favors to human intelligence and morality, don't skip this one. Freud believed that in certain mob or group settings, people regress to a more primitive level. He reprises some of the ideas from the previous book as well, which probably detracts from the work for contemporary readers.
*Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920). In this dark book, Freud speculates about another human drive that may rival eros or the libido, i.e. thanatos or the death instinct, which represents the desire of organic matter to return to a simpler state and could result in acts of destruction. Again, this one is a stretch today (but sometimes I wonder about it...).
*The Future of an Illusion (1927). Freud wrote often about religion, but in this work he characterizes it as an illusion, which basically is something we believe in because we want it to be true. He saw the belief in a good and provident God who would take care of us as a kind of wish-fulfillment that reflects an infant's or child's view of his parents.
*Civilization and its Discontents (1930). This one lays out his basically tragic view of human social life. People depend on society increasingly for survival but doing so necessarily involves the frustration of our instinctual drives. And we're stuck with both.
There's way more to ol' Sig than this week's posts have hinted at. Even if you disagree with many of his ideas (as most people probably do), you may find him worth a look or two.
And as for that cigar...who knows?
This series appeared first in The Goat Rope, a social and economic justice blog.