Book, Eros and Civilization: philosophical interpretation of Freud's thoughts 8/99[LS]

Discover the eighth edition of the classic Eros and Civilization - A Philosophical Interpretation of Freud's Thought, completely revised and published in line with the new spelling agreement. In Freudian theory, civilization appears to us established in contradiction with primary instincts and the pleasure principle, in the permanent subjugation of human instincts. The free gratification of man's needs would therefore be incompatible with civilized society: delay and renunciation of satisfaction are prerequisites for progress. For Marcuse, however, Freud's own theoretical conception seems to refute his firm denial of the historical possibility of a non-repressive civilization. Opposing neo-Freudian revisionist schools, he asserts that Freud's theory is “sociological” in its substance, that “biologism” is social theory in a profound dimension and that, therefore, no new cultural or sociological orientation is necessary to reveal this substance. It also admits that the very achievements of the dominating civilization seem to create the preconditions for the abolition of repression and the transformation of society. In a burning political preface – written in 1966 for one of the editions of this book –, Herbert Marcuse highlights the fact that modern industrial society increasingly depends on the production and consumption of superfluity, planned obsoleteness and means of destruction. It locates “hell” in the ghettos of affluent society and in crucial areas of developing countries and interprets the spread of guerrilla warfare at the height of the technological century as a symbolic event – ​​the energy of the human body revolts against intolerable repression and releases up against the machines of repression. This is, therefore, a topic that is still very current and can be applied to understanding the behavior of society in the 21st century.