REL 215
Professor E. Ranstrom Ph.D.
13 September 2014
Reflection Paper: Lewis and Freud
Dr. Armand Nicholi in the documentary: C. S. Lewis: The Four Loves Stated, “for Lewis, true happiness could only be found in relationship with God.” (p.1) The Love that Lewis sought after could only come from God. In my humble opinion, that’s where the difference begins and ends. On the other hand Freud – the founder of psychoanalysis and an atheist could only produce the kind of love that was reciprocal. I believe that they were tied to their views on religion by their understanding of what love was to them. Lewis once believed or at least had to some degree thought like Freud. As I relate “Religion: Why Bother” I couldn’t help but think about “The Watch Out” Attitude: Religion Is Dangerous stated “Religion is both psychologically and sociologically dangerous.”
Freud and Lewis’s perspectives on love differ because Lewis focuses on God while Freud focuses on self. One on hand, Lewis’s explains that Gods love in man enables him to love unconditionally. For an example, Lewis believed the divine gift love in a man enables him to love what is not naturally lovable – lepers, criminals, enemies and morons. On the other hand, Freud believes on the gratification of self because a man’s beliefs and behavior stem from his own childhood fears and desires. Moreover, Freud and Lewis perspectives on love are tied together because they focus on the affection for family, friends and sexual love; however, Lewis added a fourth category – love of God. Lewis’s response to Freud’s critique on religion is that love does not have an ulterior motive. In my opinion, the viewpoints within “Religion: Why Bother” are self- centered rather than selfless because there has to more than Freud’s type of love; therefore, most circumstances do not revolve around oneself. Because God Is love. Lewis’s perspective on love is more convincing than Freud’s for the reason that Lewis acknowledged that to believe in God and to pray, were the beginning of his extroversion. The light came on, He had been taken out of himself.
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