“The whole thing is so patently infantile, so foreign to reality, that to anyone with a friendly attitude to humanity, it is painful to think that the great majority of mortals will never be able to rise above this view of life.” (Bargdill, 2020).
Although Sigmund Freud was born and raised Jewish, he reveals that he is atheist by referring to the idea of the existence of God as infantile. This is because nothing in nature proves the existence of a higher power that controls the destiny of humanity. The belief in the supernatural is a result of neurotic obsession. The faith in God, the supernatural protector, acts as a buffer from the fear of death and nature.
It is therefore not based on any truth. Religion serves a functional purpose on society by restricting violence, which does not mean that its doctrines are real. Therefore, it has been used to understand the forces of life and death. Freud further expresses his disappointment that most human beings may never understand that there is no truth to religion. This, according to him, would facilitate the creation of better thinkers and creators in society.
“The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind.” (Bargdill, 2020)
The unconscious is at the center of Sigmund Freud’s perspective on the human mind. This is something that is well illustrated in the self-organization theory of dreaming. The dreams are a result of the sleeping brain and thus are not independently functional. This is why Freud terms them as the royal road, thus critical in the psychoanalytic technique. The external and internal organic stimuli are significant contributors to the dream content.
I now understand that the dream content is not identical to real-life but is derived from real life. Therefore, an individual’s emotions are very pivotal during sleep. Therefore, there is a close interaction between dreams and emotions based on their memory network. This unconscious content is often repressed in the individual’s attempt to censor themselves as they become often expressed during the dreams.
Sigmund Freud Quotes Explained References
Bargdill, R.W (2020). Living the Good Life: A Psychological History 2nd Edition.
