Civilization and its Discontents

“It sounds like a fairy-tale, but not only that; this story of what man by his science and practical inventions has achieved on this earth, where he first appeared as a weakly member of the animal kingdom, and on which each individual of his species must ever again appear as a helpless infant... is a direct fulfilment of all, or of most, of the dearest wishes in his fairy-tales. All these possessions he has acquired through culture. Long ago he formed an ideal conception of omnipotence and omniscience which he embodied in his gods. Whatever seemed unattainable to his desires - or forbidden to him - he attributed to these gods. One may say, therefore, that these gods were the ideals of his culture. Now he has himself approached very near to realizing this ideal, he has nearly become a god himself. But only, it is true, in the way that ideals are usually realized in the general experience of humanity. Not completely; in some respects not at all, in others only by halves. Man has become a god by means of artificial limbs, so to speak, quite magnificent when equipped with all his accessory organs; but they do not grow on him and they still give him trouble at times... Future ages will produce further great advances in this realm of culture, probably inconceivable now, and will increase man's likeness to a god still more.” - Sigmund Freud, Civilization and its Discontents. Freud is describing one of the great paradoxes of civilization. Man entered the world weak, vulnerable, and almost helpless, yet through reason and invention he gradually overcame many of the limits imposed upon him by nature. The powers once reserved for the gods slowly became human possessions. Man dreamed of flight and built aircraft. He wished to speak across vast distances and created the telephone and radio. He desired to see the invisible and developed the microscope, telescope, and medical imaging. Through electricity, machinery, and modern communications, humanity has begun to imitate powers once considered divine. Yet Freud’s image of man as a god with artificial limbs is essential. Technology does not truly transform human nature. It merely surrounds man with powerful extensions of himself. The airplane becomes his wings, the telescope his eye, and the machine his strength. These tools remain external, imperfect, and often troublesome. This is the central tension of modernity. Man has gained powers that would have seemed miraculous to his ancestors, yet he remains driven by the same fears, desires, and weaknesses. His tools have become godlike, but their master has not.