Sigmund Freud, 1856-1939 It seems perfectly natural to discuss a co-worker's ego, a neighbor kid's overactive libido, or even Great-Grandma's perceived sexual repression. Nowadays, most everyone is keen on the influences of the unconscious mind on day-to-day life, but in Sigmund Freud's era, the idea that we might not be fully aware of our motivations was revolutionary. In November 1899, Freud published "Die Traumdeutung" or "The Interpretation of Dreams." This seminal work introduced the ego, outlined techniques in understanding dreams, and revealed the naughty desires of little Oedipuses and Electras. Freud laid the groundwork for psychoanalysis, a method of treatment that seeks to uncover mental processes not conscious to the person experiencing them. Freud's theories led Jaques Lacan to better consider language, Jung to discover the collective unconscious, and Žižek to shed light on capitalism. And psychoanalytic literary critics, like crime profilers on TV, apply Freud's methods of psychoanalysis to elucidate the characters, narrative structures, and lives of enigmatic authors like Faulkner, Brontë [PDF], and Kafka. Most significantly, Freud popularized the unconscious mind, and got us all talking about what might lie beneath. Suggested Sites... The Interpretation of Dreams - the complete text of Freud's psycho-literary-philosophical hit. Introduction to Freudian Psychology - this easy-to-read outline covers Freud's stages of psychosexual development, structural and topographical models of personality, and defense mechanisms. Freud and the Judaeo-Christian Tradition - this critic calls Freud the "creator of a complex pseudo-science which should be recognized as one of the great follies of Western civilization." Sigmund Freud Photobiography - excellent collection of photos and captions outlining the life, times, and ground-breaking publications of the man himself. Web Directory of Psychoanalysis - collection of links to all things related to psychoanalysis.

Directory categories: Sigmund Freud, "The Interpretation of Dreams", Dream Interpretation, Psychoanalysis, Psychoanalytic Literary Criticism

Archived under: Dreams, History, Mental Health, Psychology, Sigmund Freud, Sleep

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