Nietzsche and Freud on the Origin of Psychological Illnesses

In modern times humans have become susceptible to psychological illnesses. Nietzsche and Freud both give different explanations as to where the illnesses originate from. Freud blames our libido and its erotic appetite that goes against current standards for the illness. While Nietzsche blames the slave revolt of morality for stopping us from acting out on our animal impulse. Both illnesses are quite similar since they appear to have the same origin as one another.

Freud presents an interpretation of how individuals fall ill. He states that when individuals have an unpleasant idea they repress these ideas into their subconscious. Here the idea grows and festers and can lead to neurotic behaviors. Through psychoanalysis Freud was able to alleviate these problems but also came to the conclusion that these repressed ideas actually were not the root of the problem but in fact sexual frustration from the patient’s childhood or teenage years is the true cause. Individuals then fall ill when the libido is unsatisfied and refuses to accept that reality can offer them satisfaction. The result is that individuals fall into fantasies in order to properly achieve wish-fulfillment since they cannot seem to find satisfaction in the real world. One can avoid becoming neurotic by channeling these desires into pieces of art. But if they fail they will fall into a neurotic state. While in this neurotic state we begin to regress to our infancy, when obtaining pleasures were easier. Thus, the flight to illness is the easy way out since it allows for an individual to simply bypass the troubles of society, moving to a state where they can instantly obtain pleasure. The illness Nietzsche writes about is bad conscience.

Nietzsche states that humans...

... middle of paper ...

...s fall into these illnesses since they desire obtaining pleasure. Freud neurosis is easier to see in this light. He states that the reason individuals fall into neurosis is that unable to please their libidos, individuals will turn away from society and into their fantasies. This allows them to achieve pleasure. For Nietzsche individuals elect to contain themselves, since they are unhappy on earth and are told that by limiting themselves they are able to obtain salvation in heaven. Although the stories are different the modern society has made it hard for the people to achieve pleasures so they fall ill attempting to gain them.

Both philosophers have located illnesses that appear within modern society. Although each philosopher has a different story of where the illness originated from both bad conscience and neurosis appear to be described as the same illness.