Lewis turns the tables, beginning by asking freud about a photograph of freud with his daughter anna. The compares two radically different paradigms on how to deal with lifes big questions. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the question of god. He has taught a popular seminar at harvard, for the past 35 years, on the worldviews of freud and lewis. Well, freud assumed this was so and then tried to explain why it was so. Lewis, on the other hand, did not see the belief in a higher power as a childish need for comfort. Germain, is at the schoolhouse theater in croton falls through nov. One of the questions that atheists have to address is. Lewis and sigmund freud debate god, love, sex, and the meaning of life, by dr. First, let us lay the groundwork for our discussion by asking three questions. July 1st, 2007 skip to comments f or those of you who have not heard of or seen it, british gadflycommentator maybe the only left of center curmudgeon who supports the iraqi war, christopher hitchens vanity fair, slate, and other widesyndication publications, has written a book entitled, god is not great. The news of kennedys death swamped what would otherwise have been a major story on the death of one of the most influential men of his timec.
Armand nicholi, which was based upon the book the question of god. Lewis writings, indeed, what he considered to be the central story of his life, 1 was what he called joy. The content of that course comprises the material found in this riveting and incisive book. Its important to keep in mind that although freud and jung the two. Napa institute 7312015 first covenant church 532015 c.
Part 2 will be available for paid subscribers to my. The cosmic trilogy relates the interplanetary travels of ransom, c. Lewis and sigmund freud debate god, love, sex, and the meaning of life. Lewis s illinformed and terrified victim who leaves earth much against his will and who, in the first book of the trilogy, out of the silent planet, published by the bodley head in 1938, encounters the imaginary and delightful world of macalandra. Lewiss crisp set design, we are in sigmund freuds study in hampstead, england, outside of london. Sadly, as far as we know, they never met or debated each other directly. Sigmund freud is one of the most famous figures of the twentieth century. This elegantly written and compelling comparison of the worldviews of sigmund freud and c. Book overview for all the variety of specific religious beliefs, there are fundamentally only two kinds of people. The author had been lecturing on freud and started using c s lewis as a counterpoint. July 1st, 2007 skip to comments f or those of you who have not heard of or seen it, british gadflycommentator maybe the only left of center curmudgeon who supports the iraqi war, christopher hitchens vanity fair, slate, and other widesyndication publications, has written a book.
The pain and grisly details of his cancerous disease soften freud, as do lewis s stillfresh memories of the horrors of trench warfare during ww i. He uses this book, which he considers the culmination of his. Lewis and sigmund freud debate god, love, sex, and the meaning of life and the related coursework from harvard university professor armand nicholi. They hope, by being good, to please god if there is one. Mar 18, 2020 kendra cherry, ms, is an author, educational consultant, and speaker focused on helping students learn about psychology. Inspired by the bestselling book the question of god. Lets look at the background of this debate and how.
Da hopeful downplays erotic poetry book she published in 2014. Lewis when freud is talking about how to cure neurotics he is speaking as a specialist on his own subject, but when he goes on to talk general philosophy he is speaking as an amateur. This backandforth continues throughout the plays 75 minutes as the two assert theories. Apr 03, 2002 few spokesmen have ever championed their respective positions better than sigmund freud and c. Germain has invented the most improbable, paradoxical, and delightful device, a time machine into an imaginary event, a meeting in 1939 at sigmund freud s study in hampstead, london, between freud and the c.
Freuds last session imagines a conversation between sigmund. I also recommend the play that was based off of this book freud s last session. Two men who shared the atheistic worldview in their younger days but ended up poles apart in their views on god. Lewis in regards to one of the key questions of metaphysics whether or not there is a god, and if so or if not, how that reality. Lewis society book and film club of the bay area meetings are held biweekly at 7. If freud still serves as a primary spokesman for materialism, lewis serves as a primary spokesman for the spiritual view that freud attacked. Browse a complete collection of his books, sign up for a monthly enewsletter, find additional resources, and more. Throughout the ages, many of the worlds greatest thinkers have wrestled with the concept of and belief in god. In this chapter, lewis will discuss the christian idea of a good man. Lewis and sigmund freud debate god, love and sex and the meaning of life. Lewis and sigmund freud debate god, love, sex, and the meaning of life paperback august 7, 2003. By way of freud s father complex and dawkins memes, melvin tinker examines how c.
Lewis and sigmund freud debate god, love, sex, and. Awhile back, i finished reading armand nicholis book, the question of god. Lewis and sigmund freud debate god, love, sex, and the meaning of life armand m. Freud was enormously bothered by this problem, and lewis wrote some wonderful books that help explain the problem of suffering that we all experience. Nicholi jr of course we can never really answer the question of whether god exists. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. And of course it would have been highly unlikely for sigmund freud and c. Twentyfour years after freuds death, on the morning of november 26, 1963, at oxford, england, northwest of london, a group of friends and family gathered to mourn the death of c. Lewis in response to his own battle with his christian walk. Nov 06, 2008 armand nicholi, clinical professor of psychiatry at harvard medical school, gives an address based upon his recent book, the question of god. Lewis might respond, using an extract from lewis the silver chair.
Lewis, both prevalent in our culture today, present diametrically opposed interpretations of who we are our identity, where we come from our biological and cultural heritage, and our destiny. In it he compares and contrasts the lives and ideas of two significant thinkers. Germains freud s last session, the twocharacter whatif play about the imagined meeting of atheist psychoanalyst sigmund freud and christian author c. If you know the answer to this question, please register to join our limited beta program and start the. This oxford don was not only a keen apologist but also a true prophet for our postmodern age. Lewis and sigmund freud debate god, love, sex, and the meaning of life ebook 9780743242233 by dr. Lewis 1898 1963 clive staples lewis was born in 1898, 42 years after freud. Lewis and sigmund freud debate god, love, sex, and the meaning of life 9780743247856 by dr. As lewis presses on, rather brilliantly, an analyst in the making or an analyst manque, freud. To attend or inquire with questions, please phone 510.
Lewis on freud and marx lindsley cs lewis, cs lewis. Jun 10, 2006 he has taught a popular seminar at harvard, for the past 35 years, on the worldviews of freud and lewis. Drawing heavily on freud and lewis extensive writings as does. Nov 16, 2014 freuds last session, a play by mark st. Lewis and sigmund freud debate god, love, sex and the meaning of life dr. Lewis eagerly explains his views, leading freud to voice his own convictions with the same vigor. Lewis actor, director and playwright layne coleman stars as freud in the harold green jewish theatre companys production of the play, which has been mounted in london and new york. This book is a distillation of those harvard lectures. At the core is freud s assertion that god is a figment of the imagination more accurately, god is an outcome of our deepseated need for protection, stemming from the helplessness of early childhood. I had to read this book for a culture and theater masters class. In order to do so, lewis will study the technique of psychoanalysis. The following is from the prologue to the question of god. Freuds last session imagines a conversation between psychoanalyst sigmund freud and renowned christian author c. The theologians begins with ruination, as the huns sack a monastery, destroy its garden, and burn its books, paralleling freud and lewis s initial dialogue about a beautiful garden and the.
Nicholis seminar, which is the basis for his book the question of god. In fact, in the name of explaining man, reductionism explains him away. While reforming my faith, accepting christ, against the hard knock of agnosticism, humanism, and atheism, i noticed a perilous, parallel philosophical journey taken by c. Lewis makes a far more convincing argument for the existence of god in mere christianity than does sigmund freud in the future of an illusion. The compares two radically different paradigms on how to deal. But the christian thinks any good he does comes from the christlife inside him. If atheism is true, then how do you account for the universality of religion in all cultures. Their arguments are allowed to speak for themselves, and the reader is left to decide who has presented the better argument. Lewis on freud and marx lindsley cs lewis, cs lewis quote.
In the question of god their arguments are placed side by side, as if they were standing at podiums in a shared room. The work is a summation of a class taught at harvard medical class dealing with ethics and psychology. No ordinary boat trip, this state of the art, damien hurst designed catamaran runs from the stunning pier at tate britain to the tate modern via the london eye, even if you are no. Lewis provides a riveting opportunity to consider the most important questions mankind has ever asked. Lewis and sigmund freud debate god, love, sex, and the meaning of life kindle edition by nicholi, armand.
You embark into the life of freud his history his perspective and also into cs lewis who is half his age and you are able to draw parallels and distinct differences between the two. Along with his older brother and close companion warren, clive or jack, as he preferred to be called grew. His often controversial ideas had a major impact on the growing field of psychology, and his influence continues to be felt today. This will help to ground you in the content and give you time to process your own ideas and. The book is written by a harvard professor who has spent his entire professional life studying sigmund freud, and much of it studying cs lewis. The series frames these questions in the context of the lives of c. Lewis s point was that reductionism really does not explain that which is human at all. Lewis when freud is talking about how to cure neurotics he is speaking as a specialist on his own subject, but when he goes on to talk general. Oct 02, 2007 awhile back, i finished reading armand nicholis book, the question of god. I also recommend the play that was based off of this book freuds last session. Lewis debate with dignity in compelling last session. Based on a course that nicholi has taught at the harvard medical school for over 30 years, this depicts an allout battle for the soul by two of the 20th centurys intellectual giants, who debate such overriding issues as god, love, sex, and the meaning of life from nearly ends of the spectrum.
Sigmund freud by eric schansberg october 2, 2007 share this article. In his book the future of an illusion, freud wrote that religious beliefs are illusions, fulfilments of the oldest, strongest, and most urgent wishes of mankind. Armand nicholi, clinical professor of psychiatry at harvard medical school, gives an address based upon his recent book, the question of god. He uses this book, which he considers the culmination of his career, to pit the two against one another, and to, himself, play the neutral moderator.
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