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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. Where does Freud say conscience originates?

2. How does Freud say aggression is turned innocuous?

3. What does Freud say a neighbor tempts a man to?

4. How does Freud distinguish between the individual trend in civilization, and the cultural trend in civilization?

5. What does Freud say libido intersects with, at a certain point?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Freud characterize the traditional view of the extremes of pleasure and pain in love?

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

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

4. What difficulties does Freud say are involved in describing the death instinct?

5. Where does Freud say the feeling of guilt originates?

6. 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?

7. How pervasive does Freud say the human sentiments about property are?

8. How does Freud characterize the emergence of the death instinct?

9. How does Freud describe the function of narcissism in the ego?

10. How do sadism and masochism reveal the interplay between Eros and death instincts, in Freud's account?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

When is Civilization and Its Discontents most itself? What is its characteristic passage, or moment? What makes that moment or passage the most representative of the book as a whole? Are there any places where the book seems to depart from its typical self, as if to become a different book?

Essay Topic 2

Write an evaluative review of Civilization and Its Discontents. What is this book’s place in culture? What are its uses? What are its limitations?

Essay Topic 3

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.

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This section contains 888 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample