Comparing Nietzsche's Civilization And Its Discontents

1525 Words4 Pages

Friedrich Nietzsche and Sigmund Freud both try to explain the ideas of morality and the becomings of such a social construct through their analysis and logical dissection of human interaction.While both philosophers strive to explain the same phenomenon that is morality, their focus on the causes and effects of such is different. Nietzsche explains his ideas on morality through analyzing the effects of group relationships on people as a whole. He does this through the idea of the “master/slave morality.” On the other hand, Freud talks of morality on a more psychological level. His concepts of the id, ego, and super-ego all attempt to explain the workings of morality as a resultant of society. However, they agree on the idea that there is a …show more content…

His philosophy brings up ideas such as the id, ego and super-ego. The id would be the brute instinct and nature of humans; aggression (of many instincts this is the one he will focus on). The ego wants to satisfy the natural instincts and act in relation to long term (Freud, Civilization and Its Discontents, 26). The super-ego is a portion of the ejected aggression directed inward on the ego; this would be due to external causes such as society, and would reflect the cultural standards set in place. This would position the super-ego to be a moral value over the ego, (Freud, 114). Freud’s view on morality can be seen through the statement, “His aggressiveness is introjected, internalized [....] There it is taken over by a portion of the ego, which sets itself over against the rest of the ego as super-ego….” Morality in general is the regulation of aggression; a function of the super-ego. This would make it reasonable to say the super-ego is the moral values instilled by external forces. Freud would believe that morality is the effect of society. The aggression discussed in this quote would be that natural instinct Freud believes we desire to sate, however is unacceptable due to externalities (the social values set in place at that time). Freud then explains that this aggression is turned inward to the ego (as is the desire to sate aggression), this would present guilt. Guilt is a byproduct of morality; it is the aggression on the aggressor. Morality then could be said to function as a higher order to regulate natural instincts for the betterment of a society. The effects of such are focused much more internally and psychologically; guilt. In relation to the quote, Freud sets up a hierarchy for the levels of our mind. We can see that the id (aggression) would be at the mercy of the ego. The ego is under control by the super-ego. If the ego wanted to sate the aggression, the

Open Document