Freud Flashcards
1
Q
Define collective neurosis
A
A neurotic illness that affects all people
2
Q
Freud “religion is…
A
The universal obsessional neurosis of humanity”
3
Q
The origins of collective neurosis (primal horde)
A
- Charles Darwin - humans originally lived in hordes
- Freud - the horde was dominated by one male who seized all the women and killed all rivals
- The other males united to kill the father
- After, they felt guilty because they’d both loved and hated the ‘father’
4
Q
The Oedipus complex
A
- Libido is the bodies most basic urge
- Young boys have a kind of love affair with their mothers
- As the son develops, he sees his father as a rival for his mothers attention
- He both loves and hates his father so feelings of guilt are repressed in the subconscious
- Released in neurotic symptoms
5
Q
Freud quote on Oedipus complex
A
“We recognise that the roots for the need for religion are in the parental complex”
6
Q
Criticisms of the primal horde theory
A
- Darwins theory about hordes has been challenged
- No evidence of the primal horde
- No evidence that guilt can be transmitted in this way
7
Q
Religion as a reaction against helplessness
A
- religion helps us deal with suffering through the illusion of authority presented by a God who needs to be obeyed
E.g. Sexual drive can be controlled through stric religious laws about sexual behaviour and relationships
8
Q
Alistair McGrath’s response to Freud’s theory
A
“Freud’s atheism was the presupposition, not the outcome, of his theories”
9
Q
Similarities between religion and neurosis
A
- hysterical behaviour sometimes seen in worship e.g. Toronto blessing
- phobias and anxieties/hope of heaven, fear of hell
- obsessive behaviour/religious rituals
