Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis [Paperback]

Sigmund Freud (Author)

Book Description

Of the various English translations of Freud's major works to appear in his lifetime, only one was authorized by Freud himself: The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud under the general editorship of James Strachey.

Freud approved the overall editorial plan, specific renderings of key words and phrases, and the addition of valuable notes, from bibliographical and explanatory. Many of the translations were done by Strachey himself; the rest were prepared under his supervision. The result was to place the Standard Edition in a position of unquestioned supremacy over all other existing versions.

Newly designed in a uniform format, each new paperback in the Standard Edition opens with a biographical essay on Freud's life and work —along with a note on the individual volume—by Peter Gay, Sterling Professor of History at Yale.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English, German (translation) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is one of the twentieth century's greatest minds and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology. His many works include The Ego and the Id; An Outline of Psycho-Analysis; Inhibitions; Symptoms and Anxiety; New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis; Civilization and Its Discontent, and others.

Peter Gay is the author of more than twenty-five books, including the National Book Award winner The Enlightenment, the best-selling Weimar Culture, and the widely translated Freud: A Life for Our Time. He lives in New York City. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 84 pages
• Publisher: www.bnpublishing.net (November 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1607960338
• ISBN-13: 978-1607960331
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is one of the twentieth century's greatest minds and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology. His many works include The Ego and the Id; An Outline of Psycho-Analysis; Inhibitions; Symptoms and Anxiety; New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis; Civilization and Its Discontent, and others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Intro to Freud, December 20, 2008

By 

E. Drake - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis (The Standard Edition) (Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud) (Paperback)

Yes, this little book, that you could read in a half a day, is a fantastic introduction to Freud's oeuvre. Here, he simply and, at times, humorously lays out his general theories to a lay audience at Clark University. Freud has a bad wrap with most people here in the States, and surely this is do to Psych 101 classes. But I suggest to anyone, give this man the benefit of the doubt. In this book you quickly learn that his anecdotes are fun, excellent and one could only imagine that he was an engaging lecturer.

10 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of Freud's clearest reads, May 27, 2000

By 

Craig Chalquist, PhD, author of TERRAPSYCHOLO... (Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis (The Standard Edition) (Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud) (Paperback)

These lectures to a lay audience are a good starting point for understanding Freud's thought--very readable, informative, and at times humorous.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lectures on repression; its analysis and relation to erotism, March 31, 2003

By 

M. A. ZAIDI "Ali Zaidi" (Karachi; Pakistan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis (The Standard Edition) (Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud) (Paperback)

In this study Freud delves into the studies of psycho-analysis and prepares a prognosis that stipulate his observations. He confesses that this series of lecture are not the entire studies of psycho-analysis but provide just a glimpse into the subject.

In the Study of Hysteria: hysterical patients have been noted to suffer from prior reminiscences. Their symptoms are residues and mnemonic symbols of particular traumatic experiences. Not only do the patient remember the painful experiences of the remote past; but they still cling to them emotionally; they cannot free themselves of the past and for its sake they neglect what is real and immediate. The fixation of this mental life to pathogenic traumas is one of the most significant and practically important characteristics of neurosis. Typically in the pathogenic situations; the patient is emotionally overwhelmed and is obliged to suppress a powerful instead of allowing its discharge in the appropriate signs of emotions, words or actions. One is driven to assume that the illness occurred; because the affects generated in the pathogenic situations had their normal outlet blocked and the essence of the illness lay in the fact that these `strangulated' affects were then put to an abnormal use. In short they remained a permanent burden upon the patient's mental life and a source of constant excitation for it.

Freud disagrees with Pierre Janet's thesis that hysterical patients; are inherently incapable of holding together the municipality of mental process into a unity; arises the tendency of mental dissociation. Janet in his experiments showed that in hypnosis the lapses of the supposed lost memories could be brought back. On the contrary Freud suggests that forgotten memories were not lost. They were in the patient's possession and were ready to emerge in association to what was still known by him; but there was some force that prevented them from becoming conscious and compelled them to remain unconscious. The force that was maintaining this the pathological condition became apparent in the form of resistance on the part of the patient.

What Freud has found out about pathogenic complexes and repressed wishful impulses of neurotic traces back the symptoms of the patients' illness with really surprising regularity to impression from their erotic life. Even before puberty extremely energetic repression's of certain instincts have been effected under the influence of education, and mental forces such as shame, disgust and morality have been setup, which like watchmen, maintain these repressions. So that when at puberty the high tide of sexual demands is reached, it is met by these mental reactive or resistant structures like dam, and make it impossible for it to reactivate the instincts that have undergone repression.