Essay, Research Paper: Comparing Nietzsche And Freud

Nietzsche and Freud both had the same idea that society was a major factor effecting ones behavior. However they differed in their perception of the innate qualities of humans and how human progress is best achieved. It will be shown in this paper how Nietzsche and Freud differ in their perception of the innate qualities of humans. Nietzsche believed that humans were innately good and that the essence of humans lied within their will. Freud believed that humans’ innate qualities were bad and it was society which was needed to suppress these qualities.
Nietzsche felt that society had too much control over individuals. He states that society had adopted a type of slave morality. Nietzsche felt that if the individual wanted to succeed he or she had to break free of society to better him or herself. The basis of this idea was the theory of the will. Nietzsche believed the will was the human essence. Will is an innate quality because it is not conscience from what society says. Nietzsche believed that individuals were basically born good and it was society that made one bad. In order to avoid society corrupting an individual, one had to follow their will. He wanted the will to be unobstructed by society and in order to do this one had to do away with conscience and consciousness. Conscience is ones sense of right or wrong which comes from what society says. Nietzsche believed that ones consciousness is an illusion and it must be abandoned. By leaving behind what society said and following ones will the individual could achieve greatness. Success and progress is best achieved, according to Nietzsche, only when there is an infinite expression of the will present.
Freud felt it was society that was beneficial to the individual. Contrary to Nietszche, Freud believed that individuals were naturally born bad and it was society which made him or her bad. Freud believed that individuals were born with an id. The id is basically composed of ones biological drives, such as aggression and sexual desires. The id was repressed by society and expressed through the primary process. It was the primary process that expressed humans’ innate qualities. These qualities such as Freud’s idea of the “dirty little secret” which made humans naturally corrupt. By following the guidelines of society according to ones conscience human progress can best be achieved. The innate qualities of ones id can only lead to failure if this primary process is acted upon.
I believe a valid idea of Freud’s is to let society tell you what is right and wrong. This is why I feel that Nietzsche is invalid in his reasoning. If society is not present to tell you what you are doing is wrong, then how are individuals controlled? Nietzsche states that humans are innately born good and it was society that makes you bad. If rules from society today are not present and it is the will that governs how you act, then society as we know it would be in total chaos. Serial killers and the mentally insane would completely corrupt the masses as murder and rape are allowed to run wild with no control. According to Freud if these id drives of aggression and sexuality are not controlled then the natural evil tendencies of humans would destroy the stability of any society.


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