For generations, humanity has sought to answer the question of its purpose here on earth and sought to explain human behavior. In their written works, Freud and Nietzsche develop independent hypotheses about the evolution of civilization since its inception and similarly evaluate the involuntary effects caused by society on an individual's life. Sigmund Freud, an influential psychologist and thinker of the early 20th century, enumerates the fundamental conflicts between civilization and the individual in his writing, Civilization and its Discontents. It states that an individual's primary discontent originates from civilization's demand for conformity contrary to the individual's search for instinctive freedom. Freud goes on to postulate that the demands and laws imposed on the individual create the “superego”. This super ego places limits on one's intrinsic desires and prevents them from pursuing different opportunities for happiness. Similar to Freud's assessment of civilization, Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher and cultural critic, illustrates a similar assessment of community life in his major work, On the Genealogy of Morals. In this writing, Nietzsche begins to examine the origin and meaning of various moral concepts, starting with “good,” “bad,” and “wicked.” In this process he states that the nobles defined these terms and that the people around them refer to the nobles or to people in general? influenced and ultimately determined what was “bad” or “good.” Although both thinkers addressed different concepts, they had similar views on the influence of civilization and the unintended effects it had on individuals living in that society. While both Freud and Nietzsche discuss power... middle of paper... like this. But those who follow this precept in today's civilization only place themselves at a disadvantage compared to those who ignore it. What a powerful obstacle it must be to the aggression of civilization, if defense against it can cause as much unhappiness as aggression itself!” (Freud, 146)Even at the beginning of the 20th century, Freud was able to not only diagnose the “illness” of the society he lived in, but he was also brilliant in stating that civilization pays no attention to the happiness of the individual. This quote also demonstrates that an individual who believes there is more “merit” in obeying hard-to-follow rules is actually at a disadvantage compared to those around him who may ignore those precepts. Overall, the analytical texts of the two thinkers influence our perception of morality, even with our different modern values.