Michelle Shindika
PSY 425-21
Dr. John Falcone
11/21/2017
Freud and War.
The letters between Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud raise multiple questions on the topic of war and what leads to war. Einstein highlights his concerns and opinions on war; How can it be possible for the ones in power or as he mentions “small clique” to be able to control the majority? How is it that people stand in the front line willing to lose and suffer? He also brought out the question on whether war can be solved permanently. Freud’s remarkably alluring response touches on the history of war, the different opinions on what can be a possible causes and solutions of the problem of war. He points at the ways in which people in the primitive age resolved disputes was firstly through “muscular strength” (page 5) as a way of declaring dominance. Secondly, the focus shifted from physical strength to who can to utilize tools most efficiently and who acquired the best tools. Later on, Freud begins pointing out what he acknowledges as the two causes of war, which are; psychological and material causes. Material is seen in a setting where two or more individuals want a single object at the same time, it becomes hard for all individuals because the object is only one. The other cause which is Psychological …show more content…
He mentions material as a cause, which is very valid in my opinion. I believe that if more than one individual is in need or wants the same object, conflicts may arise. Supporting this is the instinct of destruction that Freud mentioned earlier, which is the one that controls the human mind into negative thoughts, such as; death, war, etc. One question I would ask Freud is if he thinks greed plays a role in war? This is because we can never get satisfied with what we have therefore greed can be a root of war because as long as one is not satisfied and develops a desire in something that another has, a problem may
PSY 425-21
Dr. John Falcone
11/21/2017
Freud and War.
The letters between Albert Einstein and Sigmund Freud raise multiple questions on the topic of war and what leads to war. Einstein highlights his concerns and opinions on war; How can it be possible for the ones in power or as he mentions “small clique” to be able to control the majority? How is it that people stand in the front line willing to lose and suffer? He also brought out the question on whether war can be solved permanently. Freud’s remarkably alluring response touches on the history of war, the different opinions on what can be a possible causes and solutions of the problem of war. He points at the ways in which people in the primitive age resolved disputes was firstly through “muscular strength” (page 5) as a way of declaring dominance. Secondly, the focus shifted from physical strength to who can to utilize tools most efficiently and who acquired the best tools. Later on, Freud begins pointing out what he acknowledges as the two causes of war, which are; psychological and material causes. Material is seen in a setting where two or more individuals want a single object at the same time, it becomes hard for all individuals because the object is only one. The other cause which is Psychological …show more content…
He mentions material as a cause, which is very valid in my opinion. I believe that if more than one individual is in need or wants the same object, conflicts may arise. Supporting this is the instinct of destruction that Freud mentioned earlier, which is the one that controls the human mind into negative thoughts, such as; death, war, etc. One question I would ask Freud is if he thinks greed plays a role in war? This is because we can never get satisfied with what we have therefore greed can be a root of war because as long as one is not satisfied and develops a desire in something that another has, a problem may