Sigmund Freud
...liefs we hold on to whether they are the truth or not the truth. A perfect example is the man in the desert who looks out and sees an oasis. The man is dying of thirst and would do anything for a drink of water. He wishes up a mass of water for the sole purpose of fulfilling his thirst. Whether it is there or not, he holds on to it and strives to reach the oasis. We wished for a protector to fulfill our lives with some purpose. God is the overseer of mankind to help protect and guide individuals to the after life. Whether we wished him up or not, believers will hold on to their belief in God. Freud says that people felt more secure in their life on earth with the belief in God. And the image of God was similar to an all forgiving and all loving father figure. God fulfills our need for a protectorate. The belief in God also helped create order in the world full of chaos. “Religion has clearly performed great services for human civilization.” (Freud pg. 47). Since religion has its own set of rules that followers must abide by, it helped create social order and uphold much of the moral values that individuals instill in their daily life. Without rules, the universe would have social disorder. There would be more murders, thieves, idolatry, and even adultery. But, the fact is, those social injustices wouldn’t be considered social injustices because of the lack of a higher power other than ourselves who present authority and threat. Those things would be of the norm. In unbelief, Freud says that the justification in the religious belief in God should be based on reason and reason only. The only reason to prove this was science. Science is supposed to be the primary source of truth because it can put us in touch with external reality. Science is the outlet for determining the origin of the universe and ultimately all religious doctrines will be proved contradictory and therefore science will assume its role and take over. This could only be achieved through scientific observation and experience, which Freud believes that religion lacks any observation or proof of experience. Freud even says that religious belief is contradictory to all tests of science. Science is not an illusion and God is, so God is a false and erroneous belief. He believes that science is knowledge foreseeable with proof based on reality. So as a result, he believes that the more science disapproves religion, the more religion and religious beliefs will decline. My evaluation on Freud’s philosophy was very objective. Although I am a believer, I felt he brought up very admirable points about the psychology of religion. I agree that religion plays an important role in the order of society and civilization. All the components of religion psychologically motivate us fo...