Sigmund Freud's Theories On The Cause Of Violence

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To gain an understanding of the inevitability of violence at a state level it is imperative to investigate historical and present causes of violence. It remains clear that violence forms part of the primitive nature of mankind, as defined by Freud (1961) mankind are “creatures among whose instinctual endowments is to be reckoned a powerful share of aggressiveness”. Although there are many different theories on the causes of violence the root of it comes back to fear, retribution or narcissism. Violence being an inevitable feature of human relationships stands difficult to confirm or dismiss. This essay will form a position that violence is inevitable at a state level with relation to fear, retribution and narcissism and explores the common …show more content…

States fighting enemies that they cannot see and suicide bombing attacks on civilians, it is clear that the rules of the game have changed. Although the rules may have changed, the warring has not stopped and the causes of violence being retribution and narcissism remain the same. Held (2003) explores the causes of terrorism and concludes that although religion is continually discussed in literature as a cause of violence Held’s theory is that the underlying root cause is humiliation. Freud work supports the view of Held when Freud talks about Narcissism as being “a struggle between the interest of self-preservation and the demands of the libido” (1961, p118). Survival is seen as the preservation of their culture and their community and when this is threaten or destroy it is inevitable that mankind will respond with violence, when attacked respond with greater violence ‘retribution’. In modern times it remains the same with relation to authority figures making the decision to go to war or to attack another state and although ‘free will’ has provided citizens with the choice to go to war in most democratic countries this is not the case around the globe and we still see evidence of people under the influence of authorities following