The 10 most important Sigmund Freud books

Sigmund Freud is as loved as hated, but there is no doubt that his theoretical legacy has left marks on our culture and our society.

Although his ideas have been completely outdated with regard to his explanations about the operation mental processes, both our way of thinking and our way of creating culture have, in part, their fingerprint.

The most important and influential books of Sigmund Freud

That is why, even decades after his death, the work of the father of psychoanalysis continues to be of general interest.

Next you can see a small list with the most important Freud books, so that you can delve into his ideas and evaluate them with a critical sense. The order in which they are listed is chronological, according to their year of publication.

1. Studies on Hysteria (1895)

This book, written by Sigmund Freud and his mentor Josef Breuer, It is the seed of the psychodynamic theory that Freud would create during the years following the publication of these writings.. It is also the set of texts in which ideas about the 

unconscious that would later give rise to the great theories of psychoanalysis, although in this case the theme is more closely related to psychiatry and clinical psychology from the end of the 19th century.

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2. The Interpretation of Dreams (1900)

For many people, this is the book with which psychoanalysis was born. In this work Freud develops the idea that dreams could be the environment in which unconscious thoughts they emerge into consciousness disguised through messages transmitted symbolically. Thus, dreams would be expressions of repressed desires that take the opportunity to peek out to meet the conscious mind when we sleep .

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3. Psychopathology of Everyday Life (1901)

The theory created by Sigmund Freud not only deals with the causes of the symptoms of serious mental pathologies. It also tries to explain the fundamental psychological mechanisms that are behind the actions of the human being in general.

This is one of the books written by Freud in which the psychoanalyst explains the way in which, in his view, the functioning of our unconscious gives rise to the appearance of small inconsistencies in our way of behaving: slips, confusing words when expressing ourselves and, in general, what Freud called failed acts. He also explains the possible malfunctions of the human psyche that from his perspective could be behind these phenomena.

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4. Three essays on sexual theory (1905)

Sexuality had a very important role in Freudian theory.. In fact, some of his students distanced themselves from him, among other things, because of the emphasis with which the father of psychoanalysis He defended the centrality of the sexual as part of the unconscious and instinctual machinery that makes us behave as we do. we make.

This is one of Freud's most important books because it contains the ideas that shape the Freudian theory of psychosexual development.

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5. Totem and Taboo (1913)

Unlike the rest of Freud's books, in this selection of essays he leaves the clinical field more to delve into those phenomena historically rooted in the social and cultural spheres. The conclusions found between the pages of this work have implications for topics such as religion, rituals and even archeology.

The content of this work is more philosophical and anthropological than the rest of Freud's books.

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6. Introduction of Narcissism (1914)

The content of this book is a review of Freud's theory of drives. In Introduction of narcissism, Freud explains that the narcissism it is part of the normal functioning of the psyche and that its seed is present from the early stages of psychosexual development.

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7. Introduction to Psychoanalysis (1917)

Who better to introduce us to psychoanalysis than the person who created it?

Between the pages of this work, Sigmund Freud explains the main foundations of psychoanalytic theory and points out the fundamental pillars on which the work of the psychoanalyst must be based. It is a good option to get a general idea of ​​what Freud meant by neurosis, unconscious, dreams, repression, etc.

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8. Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920)

This is the first book by Freud in which a distinction appears between the life impulses (Eros) and the death drives (Tanathos). In addition, here the theory of instincts of Sigmund Freud is portrayed with a great level of detail.

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9. The I and the Id (1923)

The theory of ego structures It is of total relevance within the work of Freud, and in this book the foundations of him are well explained. The difference between the Id, the Ego and the Superego, as well as the principles by which they are governed and their role in the human psyche, are analyzed in depth.

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10. The Malaise in Culture (1930)

Since Sigmund Freud dealt a lot with the tensions between the individual drives of each one and the conflict in which these entered when colliding with the norms of behavior, It is not surprising that he devoted one of his books to examining the fit between the individual and culture.. The basic idea that remains reflected in the pages of this essay is that, as the interests of civilization and the primary desires of individuals are in constant tension, this generates a feeling of discomfort chronic.

This is one of Freud's most important books from the perspective of Social psychology.

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