Comparing The Question Of God: C. S. Lewis And Sigmund Freud

The Question of God: C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud This is a synopsis of the address “The Question of God : C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud” by Armand Nicholi, M.D., Jr., Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and the Massachusetts General Hospital, as well as a founding board member of the Family Research Council and the editor and co-author of The Harvard Guide to Psychiatry (3rd Edition, 1999). Dr. Nicholi has taught a course on Sigmund Freud and C.S. Lewis at Harvard for more than 35 years. C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud are widely considered to be two of the most significant and influential thinkers of the 20th century. Both men considered and pondered the many issues that mankind faces daily such as morality, sexuality, happiness, the meaning of life, and the existence of God. The two thinkers came to different conclusions on all of these issues though they never actually met. …show more content…
Nicholi presents the two worldviews. Freud’s worldview can be described as materialistic and naturalistic and Lewis’ worldview would best be described as spiritual and supernatural. Interestingly, Lewis and Freud came from similar backgrounds. Both men were exceptionally intelligent and prolific writers. Both had a religious upbringing they later rejected. Each had conflicts with their fathers and both had authority issues. However, Freud continued to be an atheist, materialist, and a leading advocate for atheism his entire life, while Lewis converted from atheism to spirituality and Christianity, and became an advocate for