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berkough's review against another edition
4.0
Deceptively short, incredibly dense... I revisited this book/essay after listening to Brendan O'Neill talk with Daniel McCarthy, the editor of "Modern Age." They were discussing how modern academia has given rise to a new brand of secular guilt that is being subtlety pushed by the liberal intellectual class, which has resulted in the pushback and popularity of Donald Trump and the various aspects of our culture that Trump represents. Interestingly enough, Freud wrote this essay in the years leading up to the Nazis taking power in Germany, and there are definite parallels to what Freud was observing and discussing here and western civilization today, not just the United States and Trump, but the UK with Brexit as well.
The first half of the essay concerns itself with the individual as he relats to his environment and society, whereas the second half of the essay is predominantly concerned with expanding on Freud's own brand of psychoanalysis and how we can be understand ourselves within the context of the society we find ourselves in.
Clearly this is an academic text, so it's hard for me to review and recommend... I think it's interesting how the prevailing theme of guilt is used by Freud to describe how the individual interacts with society and also how conservative intellectuals are defining the way in which intersectionality is being thrust onto the public's consciousness by the liberal intellectual elite.
The first half of the essay concerns itself with the individual as he relats to his environment and society, whereas the second half of the essay is predominantly concerned with expanding on Freud's own brand of psychoanalysis and how we can be understand ourselves within the context of the society we find ourselves in.
Clearly this is an academic text, so it's hard for me to review and recommend... I think it's interesting how the prevailing theme of guilt is used by Freud to describe how the individual interacts with society and also how conservative intellectuals are defining the way in which intersectionality is being thrust onto the public's consciousness by the liberal intellectual elite.
cici_christianson's review against another edition
3.0
I had to sit with this one for a while before writing this review. Will it be offensive to a modern audience? Yes. Is it the definitive text on human civilization? Absolutely not.
But as they say, you have to start somewhere and Freud is where psychiatry started. Very interesting for those wanting to nerd out about the back catalogue of the founding father of psychiatry. Also interesting to see the thought process behind what used to be called psychiatry. You'll definitely take something away from reading it, just might not be what you expect.
But as they say, you have to start somewhere and Freud is where psychiatry started. Very interesting for those wanting to nerd out about the back catalogue of the founding father of psychiatry. Also interesting to see the thought process behind what used to be called psychiatry. You'll definitely take something away from reading it, just might not be what you expect.
alanffm's review against another edition
4.0
Unfortunately a lot of the evidence presented in this book is outdated (Either the evidence is now considered wrong, or stronger evidence has been found). That aside, I completely agree with the main narrative. Civilization is fundamentally an oppressive institution that limits the individual desires people have by weakening its citizens' egos and redirecting their libido's. Whether keeping a system like this in tact is the right thing to do, as Freud assumes, it is up to the reader. A major work for the modern era.
bellagardner's review against another edition
reflective
tense
medium-paced
2.75
This is a very weird man