Was Freud right? About what? Assume he was right about some major issue (e.g., causes of anxiety, stages of childhood development, psychological structure): how does that impact death & dying? According to Freud, are we psychologically capable of understanding our own death?
I agree with Katrina. Frued was right in a limited sense. I think that at our basist, survivalist selves (a self in which our physical needs are not met-we don't have guaranteed food, shelter, water ect.) we are very animalistic. We are driven powerfully by animalistic drives in those situations and are more likely to act aggresively as means of survival. In today's western world, food, shelter, and water are not usually an issue. In places (such as the projects) where people are impovershed and these needs are not as completely met we do see an increase in sexual activity and aggresion. In middle class to upper classes we see a decrease in these behaviors, and I think that that is because they are not concerned about where they'll sleep or where their next meal is coming from. In these situations, people are allowed to focus on different aspects of humanity and thus have different and more complex motivators such as self actualization.
ReplyDeleteAshley, I wonder what you mean that "In places (such as the projects) . . . we do see an increase in sexual activity and aggression". What kind of activity? What kind of aggression? How are we able to observe that? How do you know that it is more than in middle classes? Certainly the tabloids cover the sexual escapades and misbehavior of celebrities, most of whom are in the upper class.
ReplyDeleteI agree with ashley that there seems to be an increase in sex and violence in some lower class societies like the projects and slums. However I don't know that its just because they are worried about food or shelter, but I do agree that is part of it. I think that many projects and slums lack the education to recognize the true horrors behind their actions. I would say that our environment does play a part to the degree of violence and sexual aggression, but I also believe that sex and aggression are key elements to human nature just not to the degree of Freud. There is still a lot of sex and violence in upper class societies its just they have the resources and knowledge of how to keep it from becoming public whereas others may not.
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