I found
this quote in the Preface of an online version of Freud’s Totem and Taboo. In the Author’s Preface Freud highlights that
taboos, like incest, have stayed relevant in society today however, “totemism
is a religio-social institution which is alien to our present feelings; it has
long been abandoned and replaced by new forms.” Numerous religions that are
vibrant in today’s society still uphold ancient patriarchal principles, like
the Oedipus complex, that originated in totemism and its sacrificial ceremonies.
This is illustrated by Christianity’s history and the Communion ceremony. Towards
the end of Totem and Taboo Freud
quotes Frazer in saying, “the Christian communion has absorbed within itself a
sacrament which is doubtless far older than Christianity.” Here Freud is
highlighting that “in the Christian myth the original sin was one against God
the Father.” Freud continues by saying since Christ died for our sins, the sin
might have been murder and to continue the murder of the father. The Christian
communion is a ceremony devoted to remembering Christ and how he died for our
sins and in that sense remembering the ancient ideals regarding the Oedipus
complex. In our secularizing world and the decline in dogmatic adherence to a
religion, how will the urge for a son to murder their father be represented in society?
Since totemism both religious and social, can society and social practices find
a new outlet for human instinct? If not, will society remain patriarchal
without a representative Oedipus complex maintaining male superiority?
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.