Socrates vs Freud Comparative Paper
Vinny O’Brien
Dr. James Getz
Honors Mosaics 1
October 26th, 2014 One of Sigmund Freud’s most prominent claims that he makes in Civilization and its Discontents is that the laws that make up society are what holds man back from what man truly desires, and that if not for the superego, man would break those laws. Based on Plato’s recording of the dialogue in the Crito, Socrates would completely disagree with this claim. According to Socrates, laws are what allow the state to exist, and the state exists to serve its people, therefore any person living within the state should want to follow the law, as it would only benefit them. These are the core values which Socrates has lived his life by, and in Freudian terms, this simply means Socrates’ superego has been effective in mitigating the drive of the id. In Socrates’ case, the instance of the superego dominating the id is a consistent one; so consistent that I’m forced to question any presence of the id at all. If the id creates a desire to kill, fornicate, and indulge while the superego serves as a reminder to follow the law and do what’s right, but the superego always prevails, then there is no evidence to support any presence of an id. Socrates shows no signs of heeding to primitive desires such as breaking the law. While the two may not agree regarding the impact that laws have on their people, they both acknowledge that there is a general sense of responsibility to follow the laws that all humans should feel. How they perceive this responsibility is where the two philosophers differ. Freud talks a lot about the death drive, an innate aggression that all humans feel, resulting in a strong internal desire for death and destruction. This wasn’t the first time Freud had referenced this concept, but it wasn’t always a foundation of his beliefs. Early on, he always spoke of man’s constant erotic desires, driven by the id. It wasn’t until after World War I that he altered his theory to include the death drive. Given
Dr. James Getz
Honors Mosaics 1
October 26th, 2014 One of Sigmund Freud’s most prominent claims that he makes in Civilization and its Discontents is that the laws that make up society are what holds man back from what man truly desires, and that if not for the superego, man would break those laws. Based on Plato’s recording of the dialogue in the Crito, Socrates would completely disagree with this claim. According to Socrates, laws are what allow the state to exist, and the state exists to serve its people, therefore any person living within the state should want to follow the law, as it would only benefit them. These are the core values which Socrates has lived his life by, and in Freudian terms, this simply means Socrates’ superego has been effective in mitigating the drive of the id. In Socrates’ case, the instance of the superego dominating the id is a consistent one; so consistent that I’m forced to question any presence of the id at all. If the id creates a desire to kill, fornicate, and indulge while the superego serves as a reminder to follow the law and do what’s right, but the superego always prevails, then there is no evidence to support any presence of an id. Socrates shows no signs of heeding to primitive desires such as breaking the law. While the two may not agree regarding the impact that laws have on their people, they both acknowledge that there is a general sense of responsibility to follow the laws that all humans should feel. How they perceive this responsibility is where the two philosophers differ. Freud talks a lot about the death drive, an innate aggression that all humans feel, resulting in a strong internal desire for death and destruction. This wasn’t the first time Freud had referenced this concept, but it wasn’t always a foundation of his beliefs. Early on, he always spoke of man’s constant erotic desires, driven by the id. It wasn’t until after World War I that he altered his theory to include the death drive. Given