random reflections on Freud thus far

Perhaps because I am agnostic, I actually find Freud's arguments in regards to religion rather compelling. The argument that religion somehow lessens suffering, or rather, puts our suffering in a context we can accept seems logical.



However, I'm struggling with some of his other arguments:

• This constant connection back to internal drives - and that society is in direct contrast with them... Sometimes I'm compelled, but other times frustrated by Freud's examples of our "primitive drives". Does everything connect to sex? Is that his basic premise? That all our internal desires (which we subvert) are connected to sex? I do not deny sex is great, but I have a hard time buying that even if society was not present I would make my choices solely based upon it. Does he believe in other internal drives?
• The existence of the id - Freud argues that psychoanalytic research has proved it's existence - but how? How can you test to show the "id" is there? How can you know that an individual is not just responding based on reinforcement (back to Skinner)?
  
• The existence of past experiences in the mind and or of earlier phases of one's self - now we can obviously recall our experiences to some extent, but I take issue with the suppressed memories he eludes to - as how can we be sure what the therapist "finds" is from the person's past? How do we know that he/she is not creating the memory in the present based on interaction (reinforcement?) from the therapist?


• The link from young children's anal interest to some form of neuroticism.... first, I struggle in general with the idea of young children's "anal obsession" - we (society/adults) are the ones asking (forcing?) them to control their bodily functions, and yet somehow we are supposed to believe it becomes a focus of the child's pleasure and then if he/she does not properly progress through this experience somehow they are impacted to be overly "anal" throughout life.