Civilization and Its Discontents Paperback – March 28, 2013

Surrendering Happiness for the Greater Good

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N.J. Terry

November 23, 2015

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Freud brings some interesting perspectives to the reason behind the beginnings of civilization. He delves into why it was actually a selfish need (keeping groups together to satisfy sexual needs) but at the same time, how similarities between the formation of civilization and the conscience formed. Did we form a system of laws based on our conscience because we needed to protect the structure of civilization, or did the system of laws give rise to the conscience, instilling an internal authority figure so that we act morally?

Freud raises some questions (per usual) but also adds some observations that I would not have thought about alone.

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The wisdom of this work will never go stale

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S. Spilka

June 13, 2016

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I have read this Freud so many times before. In fact, I have all the volumes of his writings, but I couldn't find this one--Civilization--when I was looking for it. I said to myself that I can't live a day without this particular Freudian wisdom, and I ordered it again. Of course, I found the missing volume, and now I have two copies of this magnificent work.
Freud published Civilization in 1930, when the dark clouds of WWII could be seen on the horizon. The main theme of the book is the hostile clash between the restrictions of civilization (i.e., "Thou Shalt not kill") and the demands of the instincts (to kill, to fornicate, to destroy). Civilization offers us protection, beauty, and order, but the aggressive instincts and the pleasure principle demand their own. This idea sheds so much light on the state of the world now, where states fail, ISIS beheads its victims, and millions of immigrants seek shelter from brutality in a Europe which cannot or will not contain them. And all this is happening after the atrocities of Hitler, from whom Freud escaped to London. As we are all shocked and shaken by the violence against the LGBT community in Orlando, Freud's warning words about the fragility and the preciousness of civilization come back to haunt us and remind us of the efforts we must invest in preserving this civilization of ours--so many years in the making--or go to hell.

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HARD TO READ FOR THE AMATEUR

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Nick W

August 29, 2016

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The book is not a primer on Freudian psychology, it is an ending discourse on the subject. Frued makes many good points, however I would be reluctant if I did not say that unless you fully studied and understand Freudian theory, the ego, the id, the super ego, and all of his sexual theories such as repression and the eoidepus complex, you will be unable to fully understand this book.

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Civilization and its Discontents

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Thalia Johnson

August 21, 2014

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I had to read this for a philosophy lecture and found it interesting. Not a great fan of Freud after reading this and Interpretation of Dreams but this is an important essay. Take your time and think about it. Remember that he wrote it after WWI and the collapse of his world and just as the Nazis were coming to power. A few years later, his country, Austria, was taken over and he had to leave his homeland. A few years later, his homeland-Austria, as absorbed into Germany and he became a refugee. This essay is a meditation and foreshadowing of what happens when civilization begins to dissolve.

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Any other Strachey edition will do

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Steven Vose

September 28, 2014

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Hitchens' Introduction is hardly worth the new edition. It is neither controversial nor especially insightful. So, any edition of Strachey's translation will do. I find that my students have a difficult time distinguishing whether Freud is being prescriptive or descriptive herein, which Is interesting because they are predisposed to detesting Freud, both because they tend to like religion and because Freud has a bad rep in the popular Imagination. I see shades of Foucault's Discipline & Punish in so much of what he discusses here. In fact, you can see what Foucault thought of Freud in his essay, "Nietzsche, Freud, Marx," which lays out an anti-phenomenological trajectory in the study of human societies, and gauge the importance of Freud's contribution to this philosophical tradition. This is, to my mind, the work of Freud everyone interested in post-structuralism should read. Freud is amazingly clear and easy to read; Strachey is a cut above other translators of Freud.

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Great book, hilariously tacky edition

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Amanda

September 28, 2015

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Great book, hilariously tacky edition. When publishing a super-cheap version of a classic, most designer would go with a plain matte cover. But not this designer. No, they went with the full-on leather-with-gold-embossed-text look, as though they could convince all of us that this is a fine, well-bound leather and gold book on our shelves. In reality, the front & back cover basically look like a low-res print-out of a google image of worn leather,. But I somehow love it a lot. Worth it.

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February 13, 2014

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The first work by Freud that I've ever read. I found his writing clear, precise. I now have great respect for his groundbreaking work. Despite the fact that the field of psychotherapy and research into mental illnesses have refuted some of his theories, that is to be expected as science and medicine expands our knowledge of human beings and how our attitudes are formed. Freud was a genius, and his search for understanding of the human condition laid the foundation for the researchers who followed in his footsteps or who chose to refute his conclusions. I bought this book along with a collection of Nietzche's writings, and found Freud far superior in intellect and a more gifted writer.

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Never a Freud fan, but appreciative.

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