Percy-L: Literary, Religious, Scientific, and Philosophical Discussion of Walker Percy

[janet cantor <janetcantor37 AT yahoo.com>]

Re: The Thanatos Syndrome of Walker Percy:

Eros and Thanatos—Freud identifies two drives that both coincide and conflict within the individual and among individuals.  Eros is the drive of life, love, creativity, and sexuality, self-satisfaction, and species preservation.  Thanatos, from the Greek word for "death" is the drive of aggression, sadism, destruction, violence, and death.  At the conclusion of C&D, Freud notes (in 1930-31) that human beings, following Thanatos, have invented the tools to completely exterminate themselves; in turn, Eros is expected to "make an effort to assert himself in the struggle with an equally immortal adversary. But who can foresee with what success and with what result?"

In Civilization and its Discontents, Freud struggles with paradoxes:

1.     Human behavior is motivated by a desire for happiness ("satisfaction of needs").  Humans bond together to promote happiness.  This bonding or "civilization" works against individual happiness.

2.     Although civilization prevents happiness, it is necessary for human life.

3.     In order for civilizations to be coherent, they channel their aggression toward scapegoats (those excluded from the coherence), but with little effect: "In this respect the Jewish people, scattered everywhere, have rendered most useful services to the civilizations of the countries that have been their hosts; but unfortunately all the massacres of the Jews in the Middle Ages did not suffice to make that period more peaceful and secure for their Christian fellows"

AND this is an awkward kid who made a video for his teacher as a school project to explain Existentialism. Forget about his hemming and hawing and just listen to him. This is the clearest explanation of Existentialism I have ever heard.  Note especially what he says about Kierkegard. I just love this primitive video:

Existentialism & Walker Percy.mp4