One of the points that Freud makes in his book, Civilization and Its Discontents, deals with love. He writes that love is a way to search for happiness, but it is also the quickest route to pain. His words, “we are never so defenceless against suffering as when we love, never so forlornly unhappy as when we have lost our love-object or its love” (38). This idea is interesting, yet not surprising. There is little to no argument with this phrase. Everyone can understand Freud’s logic. Love can be the source of immense pleasure, but anyone who has suffered heart-ache knows just how painful love can be as well.
It was only when I paired this idea with Freud’s point about the negatives and positives of society that I began to see a pattern. Freud shows how civilization led to a stifling of the individual. Certain rights had to be put aside in order to form the structured world that we live in now. Civilization has brought much pleasure, but it has also caused unhappiness.
So it seems as if all things in life come with this catch. The things in life which bring you the most satisfaction require some kind of sacrifice, some unhappiness. With this idea, one can see why the idea of people believing in God might not be as useless as Freud suggests. The belief in God can provide people with comfort and a sense of purpose. There are downsides to this belief, but no more so than the downsides of love and civilization.
Charisse
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