Amazon.com
Whether we love or hate Sigmund Freud, we all have to admit that he revolutionized the way we think about ourselves. Much of this revolution can be traced to The Interpretation of Dreams, the turn-of-the-century tour de force that outlined his theory of unconscious forces in the context of dream analysis. Introducing the id, the superego, and their problem child, the ego, Freud advanced scientific understanding of the mind immeasurably by exposing motivations normally invisible to our consciousness. While there's no question that his own biases and neuroses influenced his observations, the details are less important than the paradigm shift as a whole. After Freud, our interior lives became richer and vastly more mysterious.
These mysteries clearly bothered him--he went to great (often absurd) lengths to explain dream imagery in terms of childhood sexual trauma, a component of his theory jettisoned mid-century, though now popular among recovered-memory therapists. His dispassionate analyses of his own dreams are excellent studies for cognitive scientists wishing to learn how to sacrifice their vanities for the cause of learning. Freud said of the work contained in The Interpretation of Dreams, "Insight such as this falls to one's lot but once in a lifetime." One would have to feel quite fortunate to shake the world even once. --Rob Lightner
From Library Journal
This volume of essays (part of a new series) reflects a wide range of disciplines: sociology, history, literature, and philosophy. Several are works of historic importance by major thinkers, including Wittgenstein and Erikson. Others are more recent works informed by modern thinkers, most notably Lacan. Though of limited appeal to the lay reader in its assumption of a working knowledge of Freud's dream work and its failure to link the essays, the book will interest scholars, particularly those in the humanities concerned with psychoanalysis. Several essays, particularly Meredith Skura's concerning the literary use of dream interpretation, are outstanding commentaries on Freud's landmark work. Paul Hymowitz, Psychiatry Dept., Cornell Medical Ctr., New York
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --Ce texte fait référence à une édition épuisée ou non disponible de ce titre.
