Previous knowledge of Frued allowed me to go into the text seamlessly. I have always enjoyed reading about his theories on dreams and the subconscious, and he makes some interesting points throughout his writing. One excerpt that I likes read, “We frequently encounter the same repetition-compulsion as a therapeutic obstacle, when at the end of the treatment we wish to bring about complete detachment from the physician; and it may be supposed that the vague dread with which those who are unfamiliar with it view analysis, as though they feared to wake what they think is better left to sleep, is at root a fear of the appearance of this daemonic compulsion.” I can see how this relates to my life in many ways. For instance, I cannot tell you what is in my subconscious, as Freud himself says, it is there for a reason. But I do believe that we avoid certain things in life because we have something in our subconscious telling us not to go there. When I was a toddler, say about 2 or 3, my mother told me I used to be so afraid of the doctor that they would have to forcefully bring me inside. Now I do not remember this, even though I remember certain things from my childhood, this may have been one of the things suppressed. So how I related this to Freud, as Freud says in this excerpt, until today I still do not wish to go to a doctors office. And the only few times I have gone was do to some serious illness that would not go away on its own. I dont do standard checkups, and the smell and ambiance of a hospital doesn’t sit well in my conscience. As I do not wish to awaken what made me fearful 17 years ago, through irrational thought I currently avoid what will at one point be inevitable.
Category Archives: FreeResponse
We are Boung to be Happy
After going through all material so far, I learned a philosophy that we are bound to be happy. In Aristotle’s Ethics, he mentioned that happiness is an ultimate end that people pursue. This establishes a premise that we all are on a road to pursue happiness since we were born. This concept coincides with Freud’s pleasure principles to some extent because they both assert the pursuit of some sort of goods. Aristotle might hold a different opinion because he does not believe that pleasure is an ultimate end.
Are we really bound to be happy? Different people tend to have their own opinions on this question. Some people may wonder if this is the case, how come there are so many setbacks and hardships throughout life. In Freud’s Beyond the Pleasure Principle, it explains the reasons why people experience pain. The book states, “any given process originates in an unpleasant state of tension and thereupon determines for itself such a path that its ultimate issue coincides with a relaxation of this tension, i.e. with avoidance of ‘pain’ or with production of pleasure.” In addition to this, Freud introduces another psychological concept of the reality-principle, which further explains how the reality-principle demands and enforces the postponement of satisfaction and the temporary endurance of ‘pain’ on the long and circuitous road to pleasure.
In response to my question mentioned above, my answer is positive. Yes, we are bound to be happy. By accurately interpreting what we did and what we do, people will get an answer easily. Few simple answers will really help to understand and resolve. Why do people want to eat more foods than they need? Why do people want to go to college? Why do people want to get married?
We all have most basic and primitive urges. The pleasure principles strive to fulfill those needs. When one day we get it, we feel happy and pleased.