Hi Everyone Happy Wisdom Wisdom it
was on Wednesday, everyone, so
this week's book of the week is
It's a timeless classic in the world
of psychology, which is Sigmund Freuds
civilization and its discontents.
Now, this book was actually published
a decade before his death and it was
probably his most brilliant work.
As Freud dissects the reason
why man is actually unhappy and
more importantly, the conflict.
Between being an individual and
trying to live in civilized society.
Now, when we study human
behavior, what's the one thing
that we always find to be true?
That we all are in pursuit of happiness?
However, there's that thing
there that we actually skipped,
which is finding purpose.
Maybe you remember that a week ago or
so, I talked about Victor Frankel's
man's search for meaning, where he said
that many of the people who survived.
The Nazi concentration camps were
able to tie their suffering to
some sort of meaning and purpose.
So now that we got done with that, let's
figure out what makes us a discontent.
Well, when you dissect Freud's
work, you can really boil it down
to two, some very specific things
and actually have a form for this.
So here it is.
You're ready.
Boom.
That's human behavior.
Increasing intense pleasure and
decreasing intense displayers.
That's really what all life is all about.
Pretty much that's what a
human being is trying to do.
An organism is trying to do
constantly increasing pleasure,
decreasing displeasure.
Now, one thing that Freud you'll
notice is that when it comes to
the discontents of civilization and
society specific for the person, it
can be tied to three specific things.
Number one, the aging of
our bodies as we get older.
You know, things hurt.
We get sick more often.
Um, we're not as fast and
as strong as we used to be.
We don't look the same.
That causes us to be discontent.
The second thing is our interactions
with the external world.
It's dangerous out there.
We have to find ways to survive, put
food on the table, um, make money
these days, um, deal with pandemics.
And the third, which Freud calls
a social side of suffering is our
inner, our relationships with.
Other human beings, not only in terms
of having meaningful relationships, but
also the fact that we end up comparing
ourselves to other people quite often.
Now, one thing that is often stated in
this book, and that's one thing that I
try to practice in my own life, and I got
turned on to it many years ago, it's a
concept of stoicism because the one thing
that Freud did notice is that the people
who did exert a fair amount of discipline
in their life to limit the amount of
intense pleasure and gratification.
They were the ones who were able to
live a more happier and fulfilled
life because they've been able to
have the discipline to limit that
so they're not starving for more.
And what that really boils
down to is having a control
and a mastery of your impulses.
Because we are an animal, you
and I, we are in fact animals.
And because we became more
conscious, we've had the
ability to control ourselves.
We don't just.
Eat whatever you want all day long
because we know that that's not
healthy for us, but to an extent,
we are still very animalistic.
If you think about your, your brain, the
majority of your functions as a person
will go through four very specific areas.
Feeding, fighting,
fleeing, and fornication.
Should I call it for acid?
And that's specifically in the primitive
brain, otherwise known as a brain.
Everything deals.
So by understanding that that your
brain is actually an animalistic brain,
you're able to consciously be a little
bit more disciplined about it and,
and more specifically guiding yourself
so you can limit the gratification.
Now during a tough time,
like the pandemic, this is
when a lot of this content.
Can really rise up because
again, you are putting your body
at risk because of this virus.
That's a sense of anxiety right there.
Your interaction with the external
world has been limited in IX, and
your interactions with your fellow
men has also, in a sense, been
limited, but you're also comparing
yourself to how other people are doing
during this path that maybe you have
lost your job and your neighbor has
not, which makes it more difficult.
Now, something I do want to read from the
book, from Freud was that the ancients
had an expression called SEMA Corruptio.
Optimi meaning to convey the idea that
the worst was the corruption of the best.
But if you invert this to what Freud
might, uh, actually, uh, dictate, and
that is that saying that the best, or
at least better will arise from the
conquering and channeling of the worst.
So within us, we have the worst.
You and I were very dangerous people.
We can corrupt ourselves.
We can be very malicious and bad.
We're able to channel those animalistic
impulses and desires, the desires to eat
more, to gratify ourselves more, to watch
things that we shouldn't be watching on
the internet or on TV, to be lazy, uh,
to indulge in all of these pleasures.
If we're able to conquer the worst
in ourselves, the best will arise.
I want to leave you with one last passage
that I really enjoyed and that's this.
The price we pay for advance
and civilization is a loss
of happiness through the
heightening of the sense of guilt.
The conscious does make cowards of
us all, and that's really the main
crux of this is that when we became
humid, right, when thousands of
years ago, you made that transition.
We developed a consciousness and because
we became conscious, self-aware, unlike
animals, right, who have transcended good
and evil because an animal is near those
things, and animal is just being it.
Just bees.
Because we have consciousness, we
have guilt, and we have the potential.
And the ability to think about the
future, to think about when we're going
to get sick, when we're going to die,
when we might be poor, when we might
be rich, unemployment, et cetera.
And so finding ways to be disciplined,
to, uh, to limit our gratifications,
especially in times of stress, because
when we're anxious, that stress would
cooped up all day if we've, if you've
lost your job, unfortunately a loved one's
gotten sick, then we start to revert to
our vices, whether it's drugs or alcohol.
Uh, playing on social media, you know,
things that we should not be doing.
So exerting discipline on those
areas could help us become free.
So that's the book of the week.
Definitely worth buying and rereading.
I hope you enjoy it and
as always, stay safe.
Happy.
Wisdom Wednesday, I'll see you next week.
