How Freud's concept of the super-ego can help us to understand the
harsh cultural climate of the digital age
Cancellation, scapegoating, raving on Twitter. How did the Internet,
which began as a place for open thought and exchange, become a forum for
cruelty and judgment? Can a whole culture become mentally ill? How do we
understand and respond to this problem?
Mark Edmundson views contemporary culture and discourse through Freud's
concept of the super-ego, the moralistic and frequently irrational inner
judge. The poet William Blake was attuned to this "dark pressure of
self-condemnation," and Nietzsche knew its power as well. One way to
mitigate (temporarily) the self-judgment of the super-ego is to aim it
outward instead, judging and even punishing others for supposed
infractions. Naturally these targets fight back, resulting in a cascade
of bitterness and even hatred. Edmundson traces the destructive passion
of the super-ego on politics, race, gender, class, education, and more,
drawing on psychological studies, classroom experience, and the work of
Adam Phillips and Slavoj Zizek. Edmundson proposes ways to manage the
super-ego and even to transform it into an affirmative power.
In The Age of Guilt, Edmundson renews the promise of Freudian theory
as he explores our unique social moment with psychological insight,
humanity, and erudition.
