Sigmund Freud has inspired more fascination and controversy than any other intellectual in history. Despite the intense opposition he encountered during his life, this “explorer of the unconscious” exerted an irresistibly stimulating effect on contemporary thought. As the founder of psychoanalysis and the creator of such commonly used terms as ego, superego, and id, Freud has had an unrivaled impact on the modern world.
Freud Verbatim is a collection of quotes, maxims, observations, and witticisms by Freud on subjects ranging from politics and religion to love and sex. In addition to assembling passages from Freud’s major works, this collection also makes use of personal letters to his friends and family. Organized into ten thematic chapters, this compilation, in a handsome two-color printed format, provides a representative look into all of Freud’s work. Thus the quote, by its nature only a part, nonetheless speaks for the whole.
Dr. Sigismund Freud (later changed to Sigmund) was a neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, who created an entirely new approach to the understanding of the human personality. He is regarded as one of the most influential—and controversial—minds of the 20th century.
In 1873, Freud began to study medicine at the University of Vienna. After graduating, he worked at the Vienna General Hospital. He collaborated with Josef Breuer in treating hysteria by the recall of painful experiences under hypnosis. In 1885, Freud went to Paris as a student of the neurologist Jean Charcot. On his return to Vienna the following year, Freud set up in private practice, specialising in nervous and brain disorders. The same year he married Martha Bernays, with whom he had six children.
Freud developed the theory that humans have an unconscious in which sexual and aggressive impulses are in perpetual conflict for supremacy with the defences against them. In 1897, he began an intensive analysis of himself. In 1900, his major work 'The Interpretation of Dreams' was published in which Freud analysed dreams in terms of unconscious desires and experiences.
In 1902, Freud was appointed Professor of Neuropathology at the University of Vienna, a post he held until 1938. Although the medical establishment disagreed with many of his theories, a group of pupils and followers began to gather around Freud. In 1910, the International Psychoanalytic Association was founded with Carl Jung, a close associate of Freud's, as the president. Jung later broke with Freud and developed his own theories.
After World War One, Freud spent less time in clinical observation and concentrated on the application of his theories to history, art, literature and anthropology. In 1923, he published 'The Ego and the Id', which suggested a new structural model of the mind, divided into the 'id, the 'ego' and the 'superego'.
In 1933, the Nazis publicly burnt a number of Freud's books. In 1938, shortly after the Nazis annexed Austria, Freud left Vienna for London with his wife and daughter Anna.
Freud had been diagnosed with cancer of the jaw in 1923, and underwent more than 30 operations. He died of cancer on 23 September 1939.
A very quick read because it’s a book of quotations. They are arranged topically and each theme is prefaced by a summary of contexts. This is a great book for those who already have a positive (at least, respectful) view of Sigmund Freud and want to delve deeper into his personality. I always thought Freud was a genius, but after reading this book, he now comes across a wounded lover. Yes he can sound like a bastard sometimes, but his sarcasm and ironies are a result of great disappointment in the darkness of human nature. There’s a certain kind of longing in the person of Freud, longing for a je-ne-sais-quoi. Eternal joy? True love? Salvation? Pristine hope? One can only wonder.
Still one of my favourite medical figures in history.
My rating of one star might be a little stingy, but it reflects my annoyance with this book. My copy clearly had a printing issue. Every few pages were half blank, as in you could fold the page the long way and half the text was missing. So I was at best able to achieve a partial reading experience with this book, and anyway who can truly claim to have finished a book that's not completely printed?
My second comment deals with the project of this book. I think a more apt title would be Freud Out of Context. In this book, brief introductions to each chapter are given, and then you're presented with a million decontextualized quotes. My takeaway? Freud was a fricking asshole. Also very repetitive. I really do not think that the project of this book was to get people to realize what an arrogant snot Freud was, but by taking his words out of context and without weighing in editorially, what you're left with are the words of a crappy human being. At least I didn't have to revise my opinion of Freud much.