In 2002, Doctor Armand Nicholi, Jr. sought to put two of the greatest minds of the 20th century together to debate the answer to the lifelong question, “Is there a God, and if so, how should we respond to his existence?” Nicholi is the first scholar to ever put the arguments of C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud side by side in an attempt to recreate as realistic of a debate as possible between the two men. He examines their writings, letters, and lectures in an attempt to accurately represent both men in this debate. His result, the nearly 300 page book, The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life, is one of the most comprehensive, well researched, and unbiased summaries of the debate between the worldviews of “believer and unbeliever” (Pg. 5).
Both Lewis and Freud agreed that the question of god’s existence and our response must be asked. Though each man had drastically different worldviews and answers, they each sought to learn and understand the other’s worldview. Nicholi points out that Lewis may have had an advantage in the understanding of the unbeliever’s worldview due to the fact that until the age of 30, he claimed to be “even more certain of his atheism than was Freud” (2002, Pg. 81). In his adult life, Freud had no dramatic change of worldview from believer to unbeliever like Lewis had. This fact may give Lewis a slight upper hand in the understanding of the unbeliever’s worldview; however, Freud was still one of the greatest minds of his times and his work proves a strong (though negative) understanding of the believer’s worldview.
The Question of God is divided into two parts. The first part, titled: “What Should We Believe” seeks to answer the first half of the questio...
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...an to view the world through a lens of hope and not fatalism.
Psychoanalysis teaches that who you are is set in stone. There may be ways of coping with the depression you face, the anger you wrestle with, and the difficulty in relating to others that you struggle with; but in the end, these flaws are a part of you, there is no removing them. Psychoanalysis teaches that while you were young, while you were weak, while you were impressionable, these flaws were formed, rooted, set in you. Christianity has one message, a message of hope, a hope formed in the fact that, as Paul joyfully proclaims in Romans: “while we were still weak…God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Works Cited
Nicholi, A. M. (2002). The question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud debate God, love, sex, and the meaning of life. New York: Free Press.
Similar to Marx, Freud believes humans simply make up the idea of God in explanation to things science could not disprove. Humans take relationships from our Earthly fathers and compare it to our Heavenly father. According to Freud, “Religion is an attempt to master the sensory world in which we are situated by means of the wishful world which we have developed within us as a result of biological and psychological necessities.” (H/R,p.26) Science can neither prove or disprove religion. Freud chooses to believe science and claims religion is only comforting and hopeful thinking to our purpose after
ADLER, Mortimer J. Editor in Chief. Great Books of the Western World. The Major Works of Sigmund Freud. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., 1996.
One of the most argued topics throughout human history is whether or not God exists. It is argued frequently because there are several different reasonings and sub arguments in this main argument. People who believe God exists argue how God acts and whether there is one or several. People who do not believe God exists argue how the universe became into existence or if it has just always existed. In this paper, I will describe Craig's argument for the existence of God and defend Craig's argument.
Two great men, two exact opposite points of view, when it comes to the question of a master creator. These two men would have a profound effect on the life that we live today. Freud who was born to an orthodox Jewish family in the mid 1800’s was born into a lower class family his father was in the wool trade. The collapse of the family business moved him and his family to a Vienna, Ghetto. Freud would later become the voice of science in a logical and philosophical battle. The latter would be author, C.S Lewis; Lewis grew up in a religious home as well, being born 42 years after the birth of Freud. Lewis’s parents were both educated individuals. Lewis’s father was a lawyer and his mother a mathematician. These men would both face their own unique challenges and tribulations. One man would embrace the idea of atheism and the other would unwillingly submit to theism.
Thornton, Stephen. "Freud, Sigmund [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]." Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. 16 Apr. 2001. Web. 08 Mar. 2011. .
Since the beginning of time, society has been plagued by questions stemming past the grasp of human understanding. In attempt to explain such bewilderment, mankind formed a principle belief regarding their presence as the workings of a more capable being, God. As time has progressed, distinguished and scholarly members of society have come forward with ideas regarding some distinct understanding into the complex subject that is god. To this day, students are taught theories that have managed to stand the test of time and interpretation, theories that are highly respected by the top scholars of this century. Throughout this paper, I will thoroughly outline, discuss, and analyze Paley’s argument on the existence of God. Paley’s use of earthly inferences to explain the existence of a higher being has been challenged by many, but his emphasis on purpose and goal-orientation is both well-conceived and logical.
In the midst of his already successful career, Sigmund Freud decided to finally dedicate a book of his to religion, referring to the subject as a phenomena faced by the scientific community. This new work, Totem and Taboo, blew society off its feet, ultimately expanding the reaches of debates and intellectual studies. From the beginning, Freud argues that there exists a parallel between the archaic man and the contemporary compulsive. Both these types of people, he argues, exhibit neurotic behavior, and so the parallel between the two is sound. Freud argues that we should be able to determine the cause of religion the same way we determine the cause of neurosis. He believes, since all neuroses stem from childhood experiences, that the origins of this compulsive behavior we call religion should also be attributed to some childhood experiences of the human race, too. Freudian thought has been dominant since he became well known. In Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans, religion becomes entirely evident as a major part of the novel, but the role it specifically plays is what we should question. Therefore, I argue that Freud’s approach to an inborn sense of religion and the role it plays exists in The Last of the Mohicans, in that the role religion plays in the wilderness manifests itself in the form of an untouchable truth, an innate sense of being, and most importantly, something that cannot and should not be tampered with.
In the first two chapter of the book, Freud explores a possible source of religious feeling. He describes an “oceanic feeling of wholeness, limitlessness, and eternity.” Freud himself is unable to experience such a feeling, but notes that there do indeed...
Born in 1856 in a small European town, Sigmund Freud would grow to be one of the most important thinkers in recorded history. From a young age, he attempted to understand the human mind and explain its tendencies. In doing so, he successfully managed to make countless enemies and critics. His ideas in response to the puzzles of human existence often conflicted with those of his audience, and I am in this number. In his novel Civilization and Its Discontents, Freud presents theories on happiness, none of with which I agree.
Explain and evaluate the views of Freud and Nietzsche, on the rationality of religious belief.
In C.S Lewis’s Mere Christianity, Lewis provides his thoughts and beliefs on the subject of Christianity by setting up a logical breakdown of why Christians and humans in general behave the way they do. The first book Right And Wrong As A Clue To The Meaning Of The Universe has a lot to be discussed with in it. It describes the simple law of human nature and the concept of right and wrong.
Rather than recognize the beneficial aspects religion and spirituality have to offer, Freud instead likened religion to a mental illness, which could be cured through psychoanalysis. When discussing weaknesses of society in Civilization and its Discontents, Freud remarks “The religions of humanity, too, must be classified as mass-delusions…Needless to say, no one who shares a delusion recognizes it as such.” (“Civilization and its Discontents” 774). Freud felt that his conclusion on religion was logical, yet he relied on paring it to disorders, such as hysteria, in an attempt to gain scientific credibility. Freud also benefitted from the delusion comparison because it offered yet another situation in which his psychoanalytic tools could be used.
Thus, Freud’s article does not give substantial answers and many things remain open for exploration and research. No doubts, his arguments are tangible and useful, but as much as he tries to go beyond and dig deeper, he still cannot fully defend them.
and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Freud’s perspective in this theory is very
Sigmund Freud is one of the most influential people of the twentieth century for exploring the human mind more thoroughly than anyone before his time. His contributions have become embedded within the vocabulary of western society not only influencing psychology, as well as literature, art, and the parenting mechanisms of everyday people. He is the founding father of psychoanalysis which is often known as the talking cure, a method for treating mental illness and a theory which is intended to explain human behavior. He articulated and refined the concepts of the unconscious, infantile sexuality and repression, and he proposed a theory of the minds structure. Freud’s innovative treatment of human actions, dreams, and cultural artifacts has had