Sigmund Freud Doctor of the Mind

Sigmund Freud Doctor of the Mind Review

A brief biography of the Austrian doctor who spent his life analyzing the mind and its illnesses.

Reading Freud: A Chronological Exploration of Freud's Writings (New Library of Psychoanalysis Teaching Series)

Reading Freud: A Chronological Exploration of Freud's Writings (New Library of Psychoanalysis Teaching Series) Review

I have read several comprehensive books on Freud, from the classic "Primer of Freudian Psychology" by Hall, to the recent "Basic Freud." "Reading Freud: A Chronological Exploration of Freud's Writings" is leaps and bounds better than any other overview of Freud currently available. The author does the rare and arduous task of summarizing difficult material in a concise way that brings out the essence of Freud's ideas without glossing over the crucial details and over simplifying the material. That is, the author is able to achieve depth AND brevity. My understanding of Freud's idea were clarified much by this excellent book, and even though I had a fairly good understanding of Freud before reading this, this book certainly enhanced my own comprehension of Freudian psychology. I once had a college professor say to me: "A bad commentator explains the obvious, a good commentator explains things that are not obvious;" Jean-Michel Quinodoz is a GOOD commentator! If you are considering a serious study of Freud, you certainly want this book by your side the whole way, in fact I refer to it as my "Travel Guide" to Freud. I have frequently referred back to this book as I read Freud's original texts, and I would be lost without it; it has been indispensable to me. If you want to have a well written, well crafted, accurate and concise book on Freud, get this...today! The book was originally written in French and the excellent translation by David Alcorn reads well and is engaging. Reading Freud provides an accessible outline of the whole of Freud's work from Studies in Hysteria through to An Outline of Psycho-Analysis. It succeeds in expressing even the most complex of Freud's theories in clear and simple language whilst avoiding over-simplification.

Each chapter concentrates on an individual text and includes valuable background information, relevant biographical and historical details, descriptions of Post-Freudian developments and a chronology of Freud's concepts. By putting each text into the context of Freud's life and work as a whole, Jean-Michel Quinodoz manages to produce an overview which is chronological, correlative and interactive. Texts discussed include:
DT The Interpretation of Dreams
DT The 'Uncanny'
DT Civilisation and its Discontents

This uniquely comprehensive presentation of Freud's work will be of great value to anyone studying Freud and Psychoanalysis.

Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious

Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious Review

Freud did not see jokes as minor nonsense and insignificance. He saw them as deeper messages delivered to us from our unconscious. He saw them as telling the secrets about ourselves to ourselves and the world that we do not necessarily want to tell. He saw them as acts of aggression and as acts of self- defense. In fact Freud is one of the few theorists of jokes and laughter that the world has had. In my opinion while Freud's understanding of jokes is not exhaustive and all- comprehensive it does illuminate much about a certain kind of humor. And it does teach us something about ourselves which we had not really noticed before Freud taught it to us. Freud himself is of course a source of endless jokes today , but it is not wrong to say that at least some of these jokes should be about his great genius and ability to see and say where others before him did not.

Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious Feature

• ISBN13: 9780393001457
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Freud argues that the "joke-work" is intimately related to the "dream-work" which he had analyzed in detail in his Interpretation of Dreams, and that jokes (like all forms of humor) attest to the fundamental orderliness of the human mind. While in this book Freud tells some good stories with his customary verve and economy, its point is wholly serious.

God and Plastic Surgery: Marx, Nietzsche, Freud and the Obvious

God and Plastic Surgery: Marx, Nietzsche, Freud and the Obvious Review

I have Dr. Barris in class quite often as a Philosophy student. I read immense amounts of dense material every day and see it brought to life by Jeremy in lectures the next day. It follows that, like his lectures, Dr. Barris manages to bring dense material to life in a fun to read and informative manner. Kudos, Jeremy! cultural critique, on "negative capability"

Beyond the Pleasure Principle

Beyond the Pleasure Principle Review

Sigmund Freud's "Beyond the Pleasure Principle" is a key text, not only for psychologists, or literary theorists, but anyone who thinks about why our minds work the way they do. If your mind is open to extreme possibilities, give this text a read. It is short, barely 75 pages, but give yourself time to pore over and make notes, as Freud moves very quickly.

In "Beyond the Pleasure Principle," Freud seeks to discover the causes and effects of our drives. To this end, he begins with the pleasure principle, which basically holds that the job of our 'mental apparatus' is to lower tension and move us towards pleasure and stability. Working against the pleasure principle are our baser instincts, which must be repressed by a vigilant brain. The pleasure principle can also be interrupted by the reality principle, which operates in moments when basic life functions are threatened - to wit, when maintaining life is more important than pleasure.

Examining the pleasure principle, Freud looks at scenarios which may shed light on mental processes that seem to challenge it. These include repetition compulsion, wherein adults seem to fixate and reenact moments of trauma. Seeking a more primal cause for repetition instinct, Freud analyses children's games. Interestingly, the further Freud regresses, the more speculative and intense he gets - from childhood, Freud talks about the brain itself, moving back to simple multicellular organisms, unicellular organisms, and ultimately inorganic matter - all the time looking for an explanation of the origin of instincts themselves.

Freud's queries on instinct and repetition compulsion lead him to the darkest possible places - the revelation of the death instinct. Freud posits that the repetition compulsion manifests itself in all conscious beings in the desire to return to the earliest state, total inactivity. The remainder of his treatise is spent developing the conditions of the death instinct, and trying to find a way out of this shocking thesis. Taking up Hesiodic Eros as symbolic of the life instinct, Freud attempts to argue out of the seemingly inescapable conclusion.

Freud's writing style is direct and fluid, but not necessarily straightforward. If you're not paying attention, Freud can go over your head quickly. For example, on page 50 of this standard edition, his line of argument dismisses Darwin, Marx, and Nietzsche in a matter of two paragraphs to astounding effect. His language is highly figurative, drawing on philosophy, literature, biology, and anecdote to make and illustrate his points. A critical text for anyone interested in psychoanalysis and its figurehead author. In what is considered a turning point in his theoretical approach, Austrian psychiatrist, Sigmund Freud outlines core psychoanalytic concepts, including libido, wish fulfillment, and repression. He paints a picture of the human struggle between instincts. The first set, being of creativity, harmony, and sexual connection; and the opposing set, drawing us toward repetition, aggression, and compulsion.

Freud's Vienna & Other Essays

Freud's Vienna & Other Essays Review

From one of the world's leading child psychologists comes a new collection of wide-ranging essays in which he reflects on the people, events, and cultural influences that have shaped him and his work.

Freud's "On Narcissism: An Introduction" (Contemporary Freud Series)

Freud's "On Narcissism: An Introduction" (Contemporary Freud Series) Review

Each book in this series presents a classic essay by Freud and discussions of the essay by psychoanalytic teachers and clinicians differing in emphases and in geographical background. "On Narcissim: An Introduction" is an essay dealing with ideas that are still being debated today - from the role of narcissim in normal and pathological development, and the relationship of narcissim to homosexuality, libido, romantic love, and self-esteem, to issues of therapeutic intervention. The contributors to this volume - Clifford Yorke, R. Horacio Etchegoyen, Nikolaad Treurniet, Leon Grinbert, Willy Baranger, Otto K. Kernberg, Hanna Segal and David Bell, Paul H. Ornstein, Heinz Henseler, and Bela Grunberger - provide diversive viewpoints on Freud's essay. They place the work in the context of Freud's evolving thinking, point out its innovations, review its problematic aspects and examine how its theoretical concepts have been elaborated more recently by analysts of diverse theoretic persuasions. In addition, they use Freud's text to chart new developments in psychoanalysis and point toward still unresolved problems.