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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Freud say happens when men do not exercise their aggression?

2. How does Freud describe wickedness?

3. What feeling does Freud say is associated with the negation of aggression?

4. What does Freud say a man feels as a result of a cultural super-ego?

5. What does the conscience take the place of?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Freud characterize the opposition of egoism and altruism?

2. What conclusion does Freud’s discussion of the Golden Rule lead him to make about human nature?

3. How does Freud say unconscious guilt expresses itself?

4. In what way does Freud say that primitive man was indeed happier than civilized man?

5. How, according to Freud, do other people figure differently in sensual love and social love?

6. What insights does Freud offer into the value of communism?

7. What does Freud mean when he says that hunger and love make the world go around?

8. How does Freud characterize the mindset of people who do not appreciate the reality he is describing, of hostility as a fundamental force of human nature?

9. What services does Freud say the Jewish people served for the Aryans in Europe?

10. In what three spheres does Freud see the same interplay between Eros and death playing out?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Evaluate your own reading of Civilization and Its Discontents—did you resist it, or were you compelled by the story? What does your reading tell you about yourself and your interests? Use specific examples from the book to describe yourself as a reader.

Essay Topic 2

According to Freud, the problem of guilt is the biggest problem facing the evolution of culture. How has this ‘problem’ been addressed, and how has it led to the further evolution of civilization? Using an example from contemporary culture, find the mechanisms Freud is talking about in.

Essay Topic 3

Freud does not say as much, but the ability to penetrate unconscious behavior, and bring invisible phenomena to light gives the analyst a real power over patients and in his culture. How does this authority fit within Freud’s explanations of religion, authority, dread and guilt? How does the analyst separate himself—can he separate himself from the fatherly or priestly role?

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