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Art's
Role in the Battle between Nature and Civilization Page 2
Freud begins his analysis of civilization by pointing out humankind's
three sources of suffering: "the superior power of nature,
the feebleness of our own bodies and the inadequacy of the regulations
which adjust the mutual relationships of human beings…in
society" (37). The first two sources of suffering we cannot
deny the existence of, Freud says. This is a solid claim because
time and our own history has shown that for man to completely
master nature is an unreasonable thought. It is important to note,
as Freud does, that this recognition does not have a paralyzing
effect; we are just acknowledging the truth of what exists.
The third source of suffering, the social sources, is Freud's
most controversial claim of the three; however, the claim still
seems logical at heart and grounded. To admit one's own fault
in any matter is always a hard thing to do, thus it is logical
that we would have trouble admitting that the regulations that
we live by, that were created by us, are the third source of suffering.
By taking a step back and analyzing as an outsider, however, it
would be impossible to deny that our institutions, that have been
created to protect and benefit us, cause suffering. Suicide, depression,
and murder are all very evident and undeniable ills of society
that come directly at the hands of our own institutions. Freud
shows that our own regulations, the rules that provide for civilization,
are a main cause of suffering that seemingly could be done without.
The establishment of societal suffering leads to Freud's claim
that "our civilization is largely responsible for our misery,
and that we should be much happier if we gave it up and returned
to primitive conditions" (38). Thus it falls that the suffering
that we are trying to protect ourselves from by establishing civilization
is also a part of that civilization, and thus we would have to
abandon civilization to remove that suffering. This creates a
huge problem that has to be looked at realistically. Could civilization
be removed, or even if it could be, would the gains outweigh the
losses?
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