It’s Not All Your Parents’ Fault

Sigmund Freud was one of the fathers of modern psychology and the inventor of sit-on-the-couch-and-tell-me-about-your-feelings therapy. He also spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about penises.

Freud got a lot right. But Freud also got a lot wrong. Both of these statements are indisputable.

One of Freud’s big ideas was that parents play a defining role in shaping the personalities and emotional health of their children. It’s an idea that persists to this day.

Up until Freud, it was unde...