The Future of an Illusion
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| Author | Sigmund Freud |
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| Original title | Die Zukunft einer Illusion |
| Translator | (1) W.D. Robson-Scott, (2) James Strachey |
| Subject | Religion |
| Publisher | (1) Hogarth Press, London (2) W. W. Norton & Company |
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Publication date
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1927 |
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Published in English
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(1) 1928 (2) 1989 |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 20479722 |
The Future of an Illusion (German: Die Zukunft einer Illusion) is a 1927 work by Sigmund Freud, describing his interpretation of religion's origins, development, psychoanalysis, and its future. Freud viewed religion as a false belief system.
Freud defines religion as an illusion, consisting of "certain dogmas, assertions about facts and conditions of external and internal reality which tells one something that one has not oneself discovered, and which claim that one should give them credence." Religious concepts are transmitted in three ways and thereby claim our belief. "Firstly because our primal ancestors already believed them; secondly, because we possess proofs which have been handed down to us from antiquity, and thirdly because it is forbidden to raise the question of their authenticity at all." Psychologically speaking, these beliefs present the phenomena of wish fulfillment, "fulfillments of the oldest, strongest, and most urgent wishes of mankind." (Ch. 6 pg.38).
Among these are the necessity to cling to the existence of the father, the prolongation of earthly existence by a future life, and the immortality of the human soul. To differentiate between an illusion and an error, Freud lists scientific beliefs such as "Aristotle's belief that vermin are developed out of dung" (pg.39) as errors, but "the assertion made by certain nationalists that the Indo-Germanic race is the only one capable of civilization" is an illusion, simply because of the wishing involved. Put forth more explicitly, "what is characteristic of illusions is that they are derived from human wishes." (pg. 39)
Freud adds, however, that, "Illusions need not necessarily be false." (pg.39) He gives the example of a middle-class girl having the illusion that a prince will marry her. While this is unlikely, it is not impossible. The fact that it is grounded in her wishes is what makes it an illusion.
Freud explains religion in a similar term to that of totemism. The individual is essentially an enemy of society and has instinctual urges that must be restrained to help society function. "Among these instinctual wishes are those of incest, cannibalism, and lust for killing." (pg. 10)
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