Lectures and Readings 1-4 Summary
PHIL1700 - Philosophy of Love and Sex
Civilization & Its Discontents Chapter 4 - Sigmund Freud
- Why did humans feel need to join in groups:
- Male & female sexuality / attraction
- By men keeping women closer to them and having families, it satisfied love and
necessity
- Women gained protection and sexual satisfaction
- Love = relationship of need, desire and sometimes jealousy between 2 ppl (not seeking
happiness)
- “Love as a foundation for civilization” pg54
- Believes religious view of love mankind and the world is impossible for most humans to
manage
1. Love that doesn't discriminate has no value
2. Not all humans are worthy of love
- Sexual love is the drive, family love is inhibited from that drive
- States that sexual relations in societies are impaired by regulations i.e. marriage (life long)
Topic 1 Lecture - Role of Love & Sex in Human Life
Fundamental Freudian Concepts
1. Pleasure principle - seek pleasure avoid pain
2. Reality principle - nature, vulnerability and society
3. Sublimation ** - channeling of desire ] 2 main concepts involved
4. Aim Inhibited impulse ** - less intense expression of a drive ] in the Symposium
Civilizations and its Discontents Ch4
- Family structure based on 2 needs / desires
1. Work - material well-being, expands to formation of communities
2. Love - sexual gratification, with community begins to be mediated by ʻtaboosʼ (i.e, insest)
- “Eros and Ananke (love and necessity) thus become the progenitors [origin] of human
civilization too” pg53
- Eros and Ananke are reference to Ancient Greek Gods
, “Aim-Inhibition”
- Society depends on establishing a balance between love / sexuality and wider communal
cooperation (e.g. world of work)
- Freud suggests that if the sexual drive is left unchecked, humans would get lost in trying to
satisfy sexual urges
- A process has to take place in which the sexual drive is shifted “into an aim-inhibited impulse”
pg54
- The ʻlibidoʼ (sexual energy) gets expressed in less intense (aim-inhibited) and
communally-oriented forms
- Key Point: the forces of love and sex are always socially-mediated
- Interaction between love and necessity
- ʻLoveʼ become diffused into various forms
- Sexual, familial, platonic,communal
“Sublimation”
- Organization of society leads to sexual energy being channeled towards economic and
productive work
- Freudʼs concept identifying this process of channelling is sublimation
- The channeling (sublimation) of the libidu (sexual energy) into socially useful activities is a
key process within civilization
- Needs to be more overt restrictions on sexuality to maintain this process
“Death drive”
- Plot twist in ch5-6 of civilization and its discontents
- Eros (love) is not only primary drive
- Humans also have instinctual impulses towards aggression
- Other ppl can also be threats and enemies
Duality between life and death
- The existence of both and tension between the sexual drive and the death drive explains why
civilization imposes the range of restraints it does
- Universal love
- Necessity of work alone cannot handle our aggressive side
- Aim-inhibited affection
- Grows the community and thus limits aggression at the same time
- Balance between love/eros and death/aggression defines society
PHIL1700 - Philosophy of Love and Sex
Civilization & Its Discontents Chapter 4 - Sigmund Freud
- Why did humans feel need to join in groups:
- Male & female sexuality / attraction
- By men keeping women closer to them and having families, it satisfied love and
necessity
- Women gained protection and sexual satisfaction
- Love = relationship of need, desire and sometimes jealousy between 2 ppl (not seeking
happiness)
- “Love as a foundation for civilization” pg54
- Believes religious view of love mankind and the world is impossible for most humans to
manage
1. Love that doesn't discriminate has no value
2. Not all humans are worthy of love
- Sexual love is the drive, family love is inhibited from that drive
- States that sexual relations in societies are impaired by regulations i.e. marriage (life long)
Topic 1 Lecture - Role of Love & Sex in Human Life
Fundamental Freudian Concepts
1. Pleasure principle - seek pleasure avoid pain
2. Reality principle - nature, vulnerability and society
3. Sublimation ** - channeling of desire ] 2 main concepts involved
4. Aim Inhibited impulse ** - less intense expression of a drive ] in the Symposium
Civilizations and its Discontents Ch4
- Family structure based on 2 needs / desires
1. Work - material well-being, expands to formation of communities
2. Love - sexual gratification, with community begins to be mediated by ʻtaboosʼ (i.e, insest)
- “Eros and Ananke (love and necessity) thus become the progenitors [origin] of human
civilization too” pg53
- Eros and Ananke are reference to Ancient Greek Gods
, “Aim-Inhibition”
- Society depends on establishing a balance between love / sexuality and wider communal
cooperation (e.g. world of work)
- Freud suggests that if the sexual drive is left unchecked, humans would get lost in trying to
satisfy sexual urges
- A process has to take place in which the sexual drive is shifted “into an aim-inhibited impulse”
pg54
- The ʻlibidoʼ (sexual energy) gets expressed in less intense (aim-inhibited) and
communally-oriented forms
- Key Point: the forces of love and sex are always socially-mediated
- Interaction between love and necessity
- ʻLoveʼ become diffused into various forms
- Sexual, familial, platonic,communal
“Sublimation”
- Organization of society leads to sexual energy being channeled towards economic and
productive work
- Freudʼs concept identifying this process of channelling is sublimation
- The channeling (sublimation) of the libidu (sexual energy) into socially useful activities is a
key process within civilization
- Needs to be more overt restrictions on sexuality to maintain this process
“Death drive”
- Plot twist in ch5-6 of civilization and its discontents
- Eros (love) is not only primary drive
- Humans also have instinctual impulses towards aggression
- Other ppl can also be threats and enemies
Duality between life and death
- The existence of both and tension between the sexual drive and the death drive explains why
civilization imposes the range of restraints it does
- Universal love
- Necessity of work alone cannot handle our aggressive side
- Aim-inhibited affection
- Grows the community and thus limits aggression at the same time
- Balance between love/eros and death/aggression defines society
