Freud's analytical vision of humanity yielded excellent essays that make us reflect his proposal in depth. This effect happens precisely because it makes us question already established patterns of human and social reality. Let's understand The unease of civilization from a well-constructed summary.

This work is sometimes translated as The uneasiness in culture or The malaise of civilization.

In his book "The Unrest in Civilization" ("Das Unbehagen in der Kultur", 1930), Freud analyzes the tension between individual desires and the demands of society. It is a fundamental book for understanding individual psychology, but also for understanding education, culture, and sociology.

Freud argues that civilization represses human instincts. Human beings increasingly need to repress or sublimate their desires and drives (such as aggression and the manifestation of sexuality).

To a certain extent this is positive because it gives the subject social protection and a sense of community, but on the other hand it is the cause of the subject's uneasiness, generating suffering and unhappiness.

The expression "malaise" comes from the French "malaise", which means "discomfort" or "discontent".

Thus, "Ill-Will in Civilization" explores the origin of human suffering. Freud believed that ill-being is the result of social repression. This can be both social and familial in origin, for example with a very rigid superego imposed by parents.

The image of civilization

In the work The unease of civilization Freud categorizes man in relation to animals starting from civilization For him, it is precisely this element that gives humanity its own identity. In this way, we carry a collective and complex component that designates a superiority within a chain.

However, Freud does not separate civilization from the concept of culture. Our way of life is designated by our own wills and choices within a variety of environments. This includes a departure from our instinctive nature.

In this way, civilization is presented as the domination of human nature by the will of man, not to mention the regulatory elements that guide human relations.

What would this malaise in civilized life be?

For Freud, culture and civilization are synonyms. And they are antonyms of barbarism This is understood as the prevalence of the impulses of the stronger over the weaker.

According to Freud, there is a primitive and barbaric tendency of the human being to instinctively seek the satisfaction of pleasure at any cost. id stands out in our psychic life .

As time goes by, still in childhood and early adolescence, we notice that there is also the element of pleasure that comes from social life In other words, we realize that living with other people can bring us satisfaction, in the form of pleasure and protection. This is when superego develops in our psyche bringing us moral notions and social conviviality.

So it comes to pass:

• A civilization (or culture) deprives us of part of our satisfaction, after all we cannot perform any act according to our will.
• This deprivation generates a unrest (hence: unrest in civilization) The psychic energy does not find immediate realization.
• This energy fetches other ways of justifying oneself or "performing" that have social acceptance : for example, by accepting the social benefits of coexistence, or through the mechanism of sublimation (which is to apply this pulsional energy in favor of work and art).
• This alternative way generates a portion of satisfaction that the ego (forced by the superego) delivers to the id which appeases in part that primitive instinct.

Although it is a deprivation of part of our satisfaction (generating what Freud calls "uneasiness"), social interaction is, according to Freud, a civilizational or cultural conquest After all, there are benefits that the individual derives from human relationships: learning, affection, food, protection, art, division of labor, etc.

Thus, it is not possible to impose sexual desires against a partner's will, nor is it possible to exert deadly aggression against someone without the aggressor subject suffering punishment.

I want information to enroll in the Psychoanalysis Course .

Read Also: Uneasiness in Civilization: Ideas from Psychoanalysis

Natural order substitution

Working The unease of civilization Freud ends up resorting to another one of his works: "Totem and Taboo", from 1921. In this, the passage from nature to culture is described, so as to transform the subject's psychic life and interpersonal relations According to the "primeval horde" (or "primitive tribe") myth, there was a patriarchal system where only one big male figure ruled.

The myth tells about an all-powerful and arbitrary father who owned all the women. However, this father would be targeted for murder by his own sons. Consequently, an agreement was created whereby no one would replace him and perpetuate his work.

In this way, the parricide (murder of the father) Not to mention that the taboo of incest was the first law in a society. According to the writings, incest was anti-social in nature.

The relationship between the Oedipus Complex and civilization malaise

We can say that the dimension of Oedipus Complex in the family context is found in Totem and Taboo and in Civilization Welfare Therefore, in psychoanalysis a well-known phrase is that the superego is the heir of the Oedipus Complex .

We can think that the Oedipus Complex, experienced by the child from about 5 or 6 years of age, will be an "experiment" that will teach him to internalize the external rules, rules that are established by other people. Thus:

• The family (that is, the relationship with the father and mother, or whoever assumes such functions) is the first "society" that the child experiences;
• while society will be an unfolding or complexification of what the child has started to learn in the family.

After all:

At family :

• o id in the boy will want to satisfy himself with his mother's love;
• o superego is represented by the father, who interdicts the boy's desire; and
• o ego It is the boy's "I" that will negotiate with the other two parts, giving in a little to the impulses of the id and a little to the demands of the superego.

Freud also proposes the Oedipus complex in the girl (love for father, rivalry with mother) and the reverse Oedipus (boy with love for father, girl with love for mother).

In life in company :

• o id of the subject would tend to seek pleasure, through the immediate satisfaction of drives (such as sex and aggression);
• o superego are the internalized norms (which the subject assumes as his or her own or as forced to be complied with) and have their most visible externalization in morality, laws, customs (as a way of dressing), school, police, religion, division of labor, etc.
• o ego it is the "I" of the subject that, as in the Oedipus, must mediate between id and superego.

Of course, the ego will perceive even if unconsciously some blessings in the superego's proposal, such as:

• a social division of labor : the ego will not need to know everything or do everything to survive;
• a satisfying the survival instinct : because he cannot kill the other, he cannot be killed by someone else, either;
• a predictability : as when the couple can have sex frequently, without each individual having to "go out hunting" for sex.

See that this superego is internalized in such a way that the subject does not differentiate between what is external (social) and what is internal (psychic). everything or almost everything becomes internalized and naturalized .

For example, the way the subject dresses, the god he believes in, the place of women, the language he speaks (along with the meanings attributed to the words) etc. are facts determined in social life. But the subject believes these social facts to be eligible aspects, that is, almost as if they were his (the subject's) choices. This idea is a somewhat narcissistic defense of the ego, which needs to believe they are "own choices" in order to more easily internalize them .

I want information to enroll in the Psychoanalysis Course .

When the ego obeys the superego too much and almost totally interdicts desire (even when this is unconscious): this is what, for Freud, generates the so-called civilization malaise.

One of the tasks of therapy from the beginning of psychoanalytic treatment is to try to offer the subject-patient the identification of which dictates that the subject has internalized from his parents and/or society cause him psychic pain (such as anguishes and anxieties, which unfold into phobias, manias, compulsions). Thus, the subject-patient will be able to move toward a more comfortable place in his psychic life,in which the superego is not an absolute executioner of his uneasiness.

The weight of culture on humanity

In the work The unease of civilization also named The unease of civilization or The uneasiness in culture This is because there is a counter-position between civilization and the demands produced by the drive, since one subverts the other. Thus, the individual ends up giving up on himself and sacrificing himself and his essence.

That's why we usually differentiate:

• barbarism : the empire of the stronger over the weaker; and
• civilization (or culture) : the human construct of a collective nature that manages and "dampens" contacts between individual psyches.

However, this sacrifice ends up generating sequels, such as:

Reduced aggressiveness

Humanity has a natural inclination to be aggressive and even savage. However, the norms of civilization prevent these impulses from being attended to in their pure form. For safety, decorum, and even ethics of manners, this natural instinct needs to and will be repressed.

Decreased sex life

Every human being has sexual impulses that manifest themselves primarily in their own psyche. However, the external world is permeated with rules and commandments that repudiate the release of these instincts. In this way, society needs to hide these sexual impulses and contain their pulsional satisfaction in order not to suffer reprisals.

Every individual is a natural enemy of civilization

Freud based this thought on The unease of civilization because of our destructive tendencies. He makes it very clear that we all carry inherent movements of destruction, anti-culture and anti-sociability Thus, there is a struggle of civilization to take away the freedom of the individual and replace it with that of the community.

At work in The future of an illusion There is a certain resignation toward the nature of man. In short, it is described that a part of mankind will always be asocial because of illness or excess of drive. Thus, the war between individual and civilization remains eternal and unchanging.

In this work, Freud works with the image of conservatism provided by religion. The psychoanalyst indicates that the basis of religion is a defense mechanism against the infantile helplessness that haunts us until we come of age. In his view, religion is equivalent to a caring father who offers protection, security, and prevents total decline.

Behavioral reins

Opening mutual arguments, in The unease of civilization Freud says that this control exists so that we can live in society. In this, if religion became extinct, another system with similar characteristics would be created In other words, at the same time that he wants to free himself, man puts the brakes on himself.

Freud makes it clear that civilization is intended to avoid suffering and provide security, so that pleasure is displaced. Because the satisfaction of impulses is partial and episodic, the chances of being happy are limited. For him, happiness is conceptually constructed in a subjective way, depending on something in order to exist.

In his own words, "The program of becoming happy which the pleasure principle imposes on us cannot be realized; yet we must not - indeed, we cannot - abandon our efforts to bring it closer to achievement, one way or another." .

Factors to human suffering

In the work done in The unease of civilization Freud pointed out that the human being had some sufferings inherent to his essence. Regardless of what your pains are, they would always originate from the same sources Of the three described, we quote:

Body

Our body has its own needs, and they are driven by natural impulses. It happens that we cannot always respond to these calls, and we need to repress these desires. Consequently, this ends up generating physical and psychic disturbances or imbalances.

Relationships

Relating to other people is also a channel of suffering for the human being, because he is dealing with a fellow human being who has his own particularities and desires. Thus there can be clashes of interest at the lowest to the highest levels.

External World

Finally, the very reality in which we are inserted can be a continuous channel of suffering for us. Just as in a relationship, our personal tendencies may clash with the rules of the external world For example, think about all the things you must suppress in order not to be publicly judged and condemned.

Feeling of guilt

In the writings of The unease of civilization Because of a tension between Ego and Superego, one nurtures a need to punish oneself. Guilt comes from two sources: fear of an outside authority and also fear of one's own superego .

In this, he feeds that there is a close relationship of civilization with the feeling of guilt. In order to keep human beings connected, civilization feeds and strengthens the feeling of guilt about them. For this, it created a Superego of great influence that helps in the cultural evolution.

In the end, the author bathes in a pessimistic tone and makes us question if there is pathology in the communities. Not only that, he questions if they have also become groups with increased neurosis. Finally, the author poses the question about how far the development of culture will help to dominate the death drive.

Final considerations about The unease of civilization

By exploring this theme, you can reflect on how to find a balance:

• between the pursuit of happiness and
• the demands of life in society.

Some books, movies, and music demonstrate this aspect of the malaise perceived by the subject, in counterpoint to the demands of life in society.

We can highlight:

• "Fool's Gold" (Raul Seixas, 1973): the lyricist shows that, even after following social obligations and achieving "success", he is still not a fulfilled person.
• "Matrix" (1999): the film questions reality and uneasiness in a controlled society. What if social rules serve only to maintain a status quo and appearances?
• "The Wall" (Pink Floyd, 1979): The song composed by Roger Waters explores the malaise and alienation in modern society.
• "Black Sheep" (Rita Lee, 1975) and "Shoe 36" (Raul Seixas, 1977): these songs show characters trying to free themselves from their father's yoke, an essentially oedipal theme.
• "The Truman Show" (1998): The film talks about the dangers caused by surveillance and distortion of reality, in an artificial world that sacrifices one subject for the pleasure of others.
• "Brave New World" (1932) e "1984" (1949), both books by Aldous Huxley: they portray dystopian societies with underlying malaise on account of demands for standards to be followed by citizens.

Can you think of any other artwork that brings up the theme of the unease of living in society? Leave your indication in the comments below.

At The unease of civilization we have the elaboration of questions regarding the human guidelines Freud constantly makes us question about the system of social construction of humanity itself, and in the opposite direction, he unravels the elements that push us to the positions we currently occupy.

In part, it displays a constant struggle of the individual against the collective, so that one tries to dominate the other. But in general, there is a control of the natural roots belonging to each human being. Repression would result in problems in our minds, behavior and sociability.

This article was written by Paulo Vieira, content manager of the Psychoanalysis Training Course, 100% online. Showing itself as a tool for enlightenment, Psychoanalysis can help you get the answers you are looking for regarding your tendencies and personal doubts. You can be sure that you will have excellent elements to understand these ideas present in The unease of civilization .