Philosophy of Sociology - Violence and the Self

Philosophy of Sociology - Violence and the Self
Either Task A: Deep Interpretation
Choose one of the following questions on a specific theorist, and make an in-depth analysis of the way they
uncover violence and repression in the construction of the self and at the heart of modern civilization.
1. What, for Nietzsche, is the value of morality?
What is morality, for Nietzsche? How does Nietzsche critique morality? Under what circumstances do we create morality and
why is this an important question for Nietzsche? What is the difference between good and bad and good and evil? How does he
regard guilt and bad conscience? Would he like us to return to master morality? Has morality had any benefits for us?
2. Why is Freud so pessimistic about the future of civilization?
What, for Freud, is civilization? Where do its hallmarks come from? Could we do without the core features of civilization? Could
we do without the processes by which civilization comes about? Does Freud see violence as something we can overcome? What
happens, for Freud, if there is too much repression? How might his historical situation have coloured his opinion?
3. Why, for the Frankfurt School, is there so much self-repression?
How do the Frankfurt School draw on both Freud and Marx in their explanation of repression? How do they understand
rationalization and Enlightenment in general? Whose purposes does repression serve? Could we have a society without any
repression? How does capitalist society redirect our violent instincts for its own ends?
Or Task B: Compare and Contrast
Choose one of the following questions, and compare two of the theorists or schools we have studied to
answer it. (The Frankfurt School can be treated as one of your theorists.) Explain the differences in their
analysis of the same underlying phenomenon and the way these differences produce alternative perspectives
on the right response to it:
5. Is the violence that has led to modern civilization necessary?
Where does the problem of violence stem from? How violent are humans intrinsically, for the authors? What sort of problems must
society solve to hold itself together? How does society carry out its violence? How openly repressive is society? Could we have a
civilization without violence? How far is violence inherent to the human psyche, or the product of social circumstances?
6. Can Freud offer a positive image for the future to match Nietzsches Zarathustra?
What similarities between Freud and Nietzsche might lead us to expect such an image? How do they envisage the future? Are
they trying to be descriptive or normative? How is human freedom connected with violent self-repression? How do they understand
primitive humans? Do they agree on why we have morality? How does the way they value morality affect their view of the future?
7. Was it worth developing individual personhood?
What would we be like without self-repression? What would society be like without it? What are the costs and benefits of the
development of conscience and guilt, for Nietzsche and Freud? How do the Frankfurt School see the historical development of both
society and selfhood? What ideals do these writers have about an ideal form of selfhood? Would it be possible without repression?
8. Could we reduce self-repression by changing society?
Where do our violent instincts stem from, for these writers? Are they encouraged or diminished by social forces? Does society ever
make use of our aggression? What sort of social changes would be necessary to reduce repression? How might the Frankfurt
Schools Marxist perspective lead them to disagree with Freuds psychodynamic theory and Nietzsches philosophical account?