The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-04-20

Psychoanalysis.

themselves are IN safe OF uncer.
tainty about 1t. 1t is q new science
the fundamental value OF which n
widely acknowledged. but the d.
tails of which are just beginning Ia
be worked out.
Many of its proponents believe
that the beginning Of psychoanal.
ysis will be looked back upon as ons
Of the great strides forward in
mans understanding Of himself
Certainly, it has spread a food Of
light into a thousand dark corners
OF human misery. 1t challenge,
the value of laws and social Gus
toms that are deeply intrenched in
our lives. It is sure to excite fierce
opposition. And it will be a lons
time before its proper place in the
scheme. of things has been estab-
lished. Meanwhile. it is a thing
about which to be inquirins ana
skeptical rather than enthusiastic
and credulous.
Not An Excuse for License.
There Is a widespread notion
that psychoanalysis and especially
the doctrines of Freud. tend to Jus.
tify q great deal more freedom Of
conduct than has generally been
enjoyed by the majority of people.
As a matter of fact, this is not true,
What the psychoanalysts have real
ly shown is that the happiness Of an
individual depends upon the proper
use of all his energies, physical
| and mental, rather than upon con-
formity to any given set OF rules.
But the achievement Of this means
/ the living of a carefully controlled
and directed life.
In this point of view, the psy-
choanalysts are in agreement with
the modern philosophical view
point, and with some Of the most
recent work of research along
physiological lines.
Thus philosophy has proceeded
in the past on the assumption that
man is actuated primarily by the
desire for self preservation.
Nietzsche upsets this idea by simply
pointing out that we see men every
day risking their lives Of their own
free wills, in order to do the things
they feel impelled to do. Thus we
see poets starving to write poems
explorers facing danger of death
from jungle fever or freezing, ply
sicians deliberately inoculatine
themselves with diseases to prove
their theories, and a thousand hum
bier, less obvious risks and sacri.
fees, which imperil the individual
but help to satisfy what Nietzscht
!.called his will-power, that is, his
desire to assert and fulfill himself
The studies of such men as Grille
and Cannon show further that mar
is impelled to do the things he
wants to do by chemical reactions
in his own body, and that if he i.
prevented from doing them he i!
made ill. II you are born fighter
and frequently feel like fighting
this Combative emotion pours /;
substance into your blood from GER
tain glands, changing it's chemica
composition. And the blood will
not return to normal until some ac
ton has taken place. The borr
fighter finds his real joy in thu
prize ring or on the battlefield. ever
though he risks and ultimatel!
loses his life.
u With all Of this psychoanalysi!
agrees. 1t teaches you that you
real happiness will be found in do
. ing the things you deeply crave tt
do, and in no other way. And Their
, are legitimate ways Of satisfying
! most Of your cravings.
Il All of this, you will say, is fairl!
obvious. But it is not the basis o
most of our lays, customs and edu
: cational methods. Parents, guard
: ians, elders generally, have sough
: to arrange the activities of thei
/ individual needs. The boy is edu
> Gated to be doctor because his ia
Their is one, without making first
) study of the boy, which might re
7 veal that he is a born politician an
| will find his happiness only in max
ing speeches and organizing. TIL
: girl is pushed into an early mar
; rage. though her real craving ma
: be for musical or artistic expires
? sion. Everywhere we see the as
t sumption that human being ca
| be made into this or that, like
/, piece of clay, that all he needs
t restraint and proper direction. No'
: comes science and says that he
l not piece of clay, to be molde
l and hammered into a certain pal
= tern, but an individual and prede
t termined being. who must be dis
e covered and understood.