Scott Kamen REL 200
Summary of Sigmund Freud’s The Future of an Illusion
Published in 1927, Sigmund Freud’s The Future of an Illusion applies the prominent psychologist’s theories of psychoanalysis to religion in order to explore the psychological origin, function and future of religion Where as Freud’s earlier work dealing with religion, Totem and Taboo, deals primarily with the past and the origin of religion, The Future of an Illusion builds upon the ideas presented in the earlier work to examine the present and future of religion. Like Edward Tylor and James Frazer, Freud did not accept a religious explanation for religion on the basis of divine revelation or any other supernatural justification. Although an avowed atheist, Freud acknowledged that religion must serve a purpose for people otherwise they would not continue to practice it. In The Future of an Illusion, Freud highlights what he sees as the two primary psychological functions of religion when he argues that religion serves to control the instinctual anti-social urges of the individual and to diminish one’s feeling of helplessness in the world. Freud viewed human nature as essentially anti-social, rebellious and heavily influenced by sexual and destructive tendencies. In light of this view of human nature, Freud argued that humans are not naturally inclined towards civilization but are compelled to come together and form a working civilization in order to survive the brutality of nature. As humans are not psychologically equipped for civilization, there is an inherent
conflict between one’s instinctual desires and the official demands placed upon them by civilization. A view of human nature as essentially anti-social, supports the view that many people will not respect the official moral demands of society without the threat of punishment. For Freud this would mean that the biblical commandment, “Thou shall not kill” does not originate because it is the word of God but rather it originated as a practical rule for facilitating civilization. Freud argues that the command is human in origin but is presented as divine revelation in order to justify its existence to the masses and to encourage compliance through the threat of punishment in the afterlife. Freud explains that in spite of the sacrifices made by individuals in order to live in society, the forces of nature can be terrifying and death is certain. As a result, individuals can become overwhelmed by feelings of helplessness. In applying his theory of psychoanalysis to religion, Freud argues that belief in a powerful fatherly God can be seen as a child-like longing for the protective embrace of a father. In his words, the fatherly God or gods “retain their threefold task: they must exorcize the terrors of nature, they must reconcile men to the cruelty of Fate, particularly as it is shown in death, and they must compensate them for the suffering and privation which a civilized life in common has imposed on them.” (Freud, TFI, 22) In comparing belief in God to a child like longing for a father, Freud sheds light on the reasons why people, even in spite of contradicting evidence, are reluctant to give up their religious belief. This comparison stresses the sense of
security that belief in a fatherly God can provide and how it would be very frightening for many individuals to disavow belief in God and lose the sense of protection and security that such belief provided for them. In Totem and Taboo, Freud looked to the past. In The Future of an Illusion, Freud explores what he sees as the future for civilization and religion. In examining Freud’s view of the future, it is important to understand his use of the word illusion and how the word differs from delusion. Freud defines a delusion as something that is erroneous and does not agree with available evidence. This differs from an illusion, which he defines as something that one very much wants to be true. An illusion may be unlikely but it has the possibility, however small, of being or becoming true. To explain the term illusion, Freud uses the example of a middle-class girl who wishes to someday marry a prince. This is an illusion because although it might be unlikely it is within the realm of possibility. (Freud, TFI, 39) Freud describes religion as an illusion by stressing the way in which it is based on how people wish things to be. He maintains that religious teachings are not truths revealed by God or logical conclusions but they are rather, “fulfillments of the oldest, strongest and most urgent wishes of mankind. The secret of their strength lies in the strength of those wishes.” (Freud, TFI, 38) While Freud does classify religion as an illusion, he relegates it to the status of an illusion that is highly unlikely to be true. The case is made for the untruth of God and religious texts by attacking common justifications for religious belief. Freud describes religious ideas and teachings as “assertions
about facts and conditions of external (or internal) reality which tell one something one has not discovered for oneself and which lay claim to one’s belief”. (Freud, TFI, 31) Freud refutes the validity of belief on such a basis by using the example of a schoolteacher explaining that the town of Constance lies next to the Bodensee River. He contends that while a student can go to the town of Constance and see that it in fact lies next to the Bodensee River, the same validation is not possible for religious belief. Freud leads this into the argument that the severe punishment for questioning religious doctrine and the act of regarding challenges to religious belief as heresy is based on the insecure nature upon which religious doctrines are justified. Arguments are also made against other common justifications for religious belief such as the argument that one should hold religious ideas to be true because our ancestors have held them to be true for many years. Freud contends that such an argument is baseless on the grounds that our ancestors believed in many things that modern thinking people could not even come close to believing. After explaining why he believes religion to be an untrue illusion, Freud presents his vision for the future of this illusion. In presenting his vision, Freud presents his argument against an imagined critic who argues that whether it is true or not, religion serves vital social functions that prevent the collapse of society into violence and chaos. While Freud concedes that in the earlier history of humanity, religion was inescapable and did serve vital social functions, with the advancement of rational thought and the maturing of civilization, religion is
no longer necessary. Carrying on the theme of religious belief as an immature and childlike wish, Freud argues that society would benefit if people would come to view moral codes in a mature and rational manner. He provides an example by arguing that it would beneficial for humanity to understand the command, “Though shall not kill” as a human constructed idea, which was created to benefit the members of society. This would likely result in a more congenial relationship with moral commands than the relationship that exists in many religions, which is often based on divine punishment for disobedience.