Freud Civilization and Its Discontents

In Civilization and its Discontents Freud asks, "What does man wish for and aim to achieve in life?" The answer that he gives is; "Most immediately men strive to be happy, and their behaviour in the outside world is determined by the pleasure principle." Shortly after this statement he says man realises this is not a possible state of affairs and thereafter accepts and is regulated by the "reality principle" . This book essentially explains why …

…in life, "...powerful distractions...substitutive satisfactions...intoxicants..." His offer reduces man to a being that is hurt by his own thinking and these methods take man away from thinking; this amounts to: work hard, gardening, and have a drink, but do not rely only on one of the measures, that is too dangerous. Bibliography. Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Tran, McLintock, David. Penguin: London, 2002. Gill, Roma, Ed. The Plays of Christopher Marlow. OUP: London, 1971.