| Letter
to Einstein is a world famous
letter written by the 20 th
century well known psychologist
Sigmund Freud to the famous
psysist Albert Einstein. Freud
wrote the letter after the First
World War in the response of
Einstein because Einstein had
already written a letter to
Freud asking him causes and
solution of war. Eintein had
also asked Freud weather the
problem of war can be solved
permanently. In response, Freud
has written about his opinion
on how war happens and what
can be the solution of the problem
of war. But before writing about
the causes and solution of war
Freud has briefly described
about the history of war. The
question where might is right
as the cause of war asked by
Einstein is replied by Freud
that might is violence.
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Then
he says that in the
primitive age there
was also war among the
people but at that time
physical power was the
means of war. In the
Stone Age because of
the invention of the
stone weapons, physical
strength was replaced
by mental strength because
a person having the
skill of using the weapon
dominated others in
the war. In the modern
age due to the advanced
weapons can dominate
others in the war. Sigmund
Freud also says that
international law and
different diplomatic
politicians are also
weapons of war used
by the powerless to
fight with the powerful
ones. |
Freud
after describing the history
of war describing about the
causes of war, he considers
there are mainly two causes
of war which are material and
psychological cause. Material
cause of war is the conflict
of desires. When two or more
than two individuals or parties
desire only one object at the
same time they can not achieve
it because the object is only
one . There conflicting desires
of getting the object lead them
towards war. After the war the
individual or the party who
gets victory in war is the owner
in the human history that has
happened due to the conflict
of desires.
Secondly
Freud considers Psychological
cause as another cause of war.
To describe about it he explores
human mind and concludes that
human mind is dominated alternatively
by two instincts or psychological
forces which are hadeotic and
erotic. The former comes from
the word hade which means hell
and the later comes from form
the word Eros which means love
when Erotic instinct dominates
our mind we become creative
and love to each other so it
is positive force. But when
Hadeotic instinct dominates
our mind we become destructive
and desire destruction and death
every where. So psychologically
when we are dominated by Hadeotic
force, we desire war. It is
the psychological cause of war
according to Freud.
Freud also writes about the
solution of war and he says
that there is only temporary
solution of war which has no
permanent solution. Before describing
about the permanent solution
of war he describes about different
temporary solutions of war.
He says that development of
culture using the world wide
organizational power and fulfilling
of the desires are the means
of temporary solution of war.
Freud says that establishing
the culture against war is one
of the ways the temporary solution
of war.
There
are two ways of developing culture:
one ways is to establish a powerful
authority in the society and
giving strong punishment to
the person or the party who
makes war. When the war maker
is punished by the authority,
the others are also suppressed.
But Freud says that it can not
be more effective. An other
culture to present war is the
planting of anti war fewer in
the human mind such a culture
should be developed that all
the people should be tied up
in the feeling of fraternity.
When individual is having feeling
of such brother, hood and sister
hood, they do not think of war.
But it is also not effective
for ever. It can work temporarily.
Another way of the temporary
solution of the war is establishing
of League of Nations which was
the subject of discussion at
that time is a positive point
to prevent war temporarily.
Freud says that such organizations
should have military power of
all the countries so that it
should be used between the war
making groups. Such military
force can prevent the battle
on the one hand and on the other
hand there should be peace talk
even on the table. The concept
of making such organization
gave birth to the present UNO
and as Freud says that military
force of the UNO has been involved
on preventing war.
The third way of preventing
war, according to Freud is the
fulfillment of human desire.
In this, point Freud criticizes
the Bolshevists who claimed
that all human desires can be
fulfilled and war can be prevented
forever. In Freud’s belief
this is just an illusion that
war can never be prevented permanently.
By fulfilling human desires,
it can be prevented temporarily
but not permanently, because
all human desires are impossible
to fulfill, when desires are
unfulfilled and when there is
conflict of desires, there is
always the possibility of war.
Finally
Freud comes to explain why the
permanent solution of war is
impossible. He says that after
the long exploration in to human
mind by the psychologist, they
came to conclude that human
psychology is alternately dominated
by two opposite instincts: Hadeotic
and Erotic the former is negative
and destructive psychotically
force while the later is positive
and creative love force. When
Erotic force dominates our psychology
we become creative and we love
to each other. But when Hadeotic
force dominates us we are so
much destructive and we desire
death everywhere. Freud also
claims that psychologist and
neurotics have studied to change
the Hadeotic instinct in to
totality of Erotic instinct.
In other words, it was attempted
to make the human mind only
as the domination of erotic
instinct by eliminating the
Hadeotic instinct but it was
beyond human control. Naturally
human mind is divided in to
Hadeotic and erotic instincts
so that no human attempts can
alter it that’s why Freud
says that the permanent solution
of war is quite impossible because
until and unless the Hadeotic
force remains in to our mind.
We always become destructive.
Hadeotic force dominates human
psychology universally so the
problem of war remains in the
human world universally, it
makes the permanent solution
of war is impossible. Freud
reminds Einstein as well as
the readers that we should be
pacifists but we cannot prevent
the war. We should accept war
like the acceptance of other
thing in life; He even says
that not all wars are negative
because some wars can be remedy
for ailing humanity. So some
wars positively change the world
of disorder in to the world
of order and harmony. He tries
to persuade us that he is not
supporting war saying that some
wars are positive but he is
talking about the nature of
war and he is saying that war
is negative but it is beyond
our control so it should be
accepted. |