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Seductive Mirage: An Exploration of the Work of Sigmund Freud

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Sigmund Freud was a man of integrity. His theories were scientifically arrived at, based on a large sample. He dispassionately observed his patients, reporting in his books and articles their deepest fears and hopes. He significantly helped many of them overcome their psychological problems.

All of the above statements would likely be endorsed by most thoughtful individuals having a cursory acquaintance with Freud's profound impact on 20th-century thought. Unless they have read Seductive Mirage.

In an engrossing, meticulous, penetrating analysis, Allen Esterson convincingly puts the lie to each of the above statements. He leaves no shadow of doubt that Freud was a charlatan and was a genius at it.

After briefly being enamored with Freud in college, over the years I have come to be quite skeptical of the veracity of psychoanalysis. However, reading Esterson's scholarly tome has led me to appreciate the breadth and depth to which Freudianism is a fraud perpetrated on Western civilization.

Reading Seductive Mirage was a wonderful education, one which I highly recommend to anyone with the slightest curiosity about the intellectual forces shaping our world.