(July 28, 2019 at 6:09 am)Alan V Wrote: I will certainly admit that our consciousness was no doubt evolved to serve our biological needs, but that has lost a fair amount of importance in these days of material abundance. We more often suppress than follow our impulses, and our judgments are often guided by reason. In fact, reason dictates that we should be very sure to meet our minimum needs in controlled situations, so we can otherwise operate freely.
I know Freud is out of fashion these days, but I don't think anyone's put a dent in the basic thesis of his Civilization and its Discontents.
We have two unavoidable and irreconcilable parts. We are animals with animal needs, irrational and limitless, and we need society based on limits and safety. Both are completely necessary to be human, and there is no way to balance them in any lasting way.
