In Civilization and Discontents, Freud argues that too much realization pain and suffering could cause an individual to reject reality and the world. This statement spoke to me because it shows that “ignorance is a bliss” might be a good way to go about life. Obviously I believe that we should strive to be wiser and experienced, but too much realization about the world can lead to overthought which then leads to depression and eventually numbness.
Freud also mentions aspects like sexual repression in society, societal control and conscience, and aspects of a civilization. He talks about one of the aspects being order and cleanliness as well as talking about societal control and how it can lead to guilt in ones conscience. I agree with Freud, societal pressure lead to a guilty conscience in an individual. The problem with societal pressures is they were probably unwritten societal rules made by one person or a group of people to repress citizens emotions, lack their realization of reality, and to prevent a rebellion so that person or group could benefit. Sexual Repression is also an interesting topic, Freud argues that sexual repression lead to many psychological disorders. The reason that this is believed is because only heterosexuality was accepted and if an individual would commit an immoral sex act, that person might have been shunned, beaten, or maybe even killed. Sexual repression was also heavily enforced on women with chastity and purity tied to it. I agree with Freud, repression is not productive in any way and limits individuals freedoms, on top of that the people in power often did not have to abide by these repressions rather he was an exception with the power he obtained. All the things that I have stated are clear factors of a dystopia that Freud has imagined.
