WP: Paragraph
Hello! Here who speaks is an enthusiast ofpsychoanalysis, in love with the way Freud revolutionized the understanding of the human mind. If you’ve heard about terms like “unconscious”, “Oedipus Complex” or “flawed act” and wondered where these ideas came from, it’s in the right place. In this text, we will dive into life, theories, the main works, in the controversies and, of course, the legacy of Sigmund Freud. All in Portuguese, simply, but without losing the high quality content.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
The proposal here is to create a true “definitive guide” that helps you understand why Freud is considered one of the most influential thinkers of the twentieth century, why their theories have caused so much debate, and how they still echo in our daily lives (including the way we do therapy or analyze our own dreams).
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
Get ready for extensive text (approximately 4,000 words), but it will take you through a journey of discovery about the human mind, culture, art, religion, and more. Let’s go to this!
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
2. Brief Biography: Origin and Training
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
Birth and early years
Sigmund Freud was born on May 6, 1856 in the city of Freiberg, Morávia, a region that today belongs to the Czech Republic. The Freud family was Jewish and faced financial difficulties when Freud was still very young. Because of economic problems, they moved to Vienna, where little Sigmund would grow and develop much of his career.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
The 19th century Vienna was an effervescent intellectual environment, but also marked by anti -Semitism. Even facing prejudices, Freud stood out early on his intelligence, becoming a brilliant student, passionate about science, history and languages.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
Academic life
At 17, Freud joined the University of Vienna to study medicine. He graduated in 1881, specializing in neurology. At the beginning of his career, he worked in research laboratories and at the famous Vienna General Hospital, gaining experience with renowned masters of the time, such as Ernst Brücke and Theodor Meynert.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
A remarkable moment was the trip to Paris in 1885, when Freud studied with neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot. There he observed hypnosis being used to treat hysteria and other so -called “nerve disturbances.” This lit in Freud the idea that the mind had still unknown dimensions-something that would inspire him to seek new treatment methods, going beyond traditional medical approaches.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
Private office and personal life
In return to Vienna in 1886, Freud opened a private office specializing in the treatment of nerve disorders. In the same year, he married Martha Bernays, with whom he had six children. One of the daughters, Anna Freud, followed her father’s footsteps and became a prominent psychoanalyst, being fundamental in the study of defense mechanisms.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
At that time, Freud began testing hypnosis techniques, but quickly noticed that letting the patient speak freely – a method that would become “free association” – generated deeper results. Such a practice would be eternalized as “healing for speech.”
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
Personal Framework
One milestone that changed Freud’s trajectory was the death of his father in 1896. This painful event led him to deep self -analysis, especially through the interpretation of dreams. From this personal experience came the masterpiece “The Interpretation of Dreams” (published in 1899, but dated 1900), where Freud systematized much of what would be known as psychoanalytic theory.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
3. The historical context: Vienna and the Fin de Siècle
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
To understand why Freud’s theories flourished, it is important to know what Vienna’s environment was like in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The city was a cultural and intellectual cauldron, receiving influences from both the Enlightenment and the artistic and literary movements of the period. There was great interest in natural sciences, philosophy, art and discussions about morality and religion.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Anti -Semitism: The Jewish community in Vienna was quite culturally active, but suffered from prejudice. Freud, being a Jew, faced difficulties to rise in the university career and remained basically in the private sector.
- Romanticism and pessimism fin-de-siècle: Europe lived a effervescence of ideas, but also a certain pessimism in the face of political and social transformations. The psyche emerged as an object of study, as it was tried to explain behaviors that did not fit only in biological theories.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
In this cultural broth, Freud proposed something radical: the human mind is not governed solely by reason, but also (and largely) by unconscious forces, repressed desires, childish trauma and interior conflicts. This idea challenged the Enlightenment conceptions of absolute reason and raised numerous questions about human nature.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
4. Psychoanalysis: Fundamentals and Structure
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
What is psychoanalysis
Psychoanalysis, developed by Freud, is not just a theory about how the mind works; It is also a method of treatment and a worldview. The central point is that our thoughts and behaviors are largely influenced by unconscious processes.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
The “healing for speech”
The beginning of psychoanalysis is linked to the observation that when patients spoke freely of their problems (without censorship, without fixed script), certain feelings and repressed memories came to light. The awareness of these unconscious content caused symptom relief – in this case, hysterical or anxiety symptoms.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
Freud and his colleague Josef Breuer presented in “Studies on Hysteria” (1895) the famous case “Anna O.”, which showed that talking about repressed trauma had a healing effect. The patient herself called this method “Talking Cure” (healing for speech).
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
The Free Association
With “free association”, the patient is encouraged to say everything that comes to mind without judgment or filter. The analyst, in turn, listens and makes interpretations, seeking connections between speeches, dreams, lapses (the famous “failed acts”) and the manifested feelings.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
Dreams as a way of accessing the unconscious
Freud called the dreams “the royal via the unconscious.” He distinguished the “manifest content” (which we remember the dream) of “latent content” (its deep meaning). By interpreting dreams, he believed it was possible to reveal repressed desires that cannot express themselves in the vigil.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
5. The structure of the psyche: id, ego and superego
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
The Iceberg metaphor
Freud initially compared the mind to an iceberg: a visible small part (consciousness) and a huge submerged (unconscious) part. Then he developed the so -called “second topic,” describing personality in three components: ID, ego and superego.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List {“Ordered”: True}
- WP: List-Itam
- ID: It is the most primitive and unconscious part, present from birth. Governed by the pleasure principle, seeks immediate gratification of impulses and desires. The energy that moves id is libido, related not only to sexual desire, but to every life drive.
- Ego: Formed to mediate the requirements of ID and external reality. It follows the principle of reality, trying to find socially acceptable ways to satisfy the impulses of ID.
- Superego: It is the set of internalized moral and ethical values, often inherited from parents and culture. It acts as an internal judge, criticizing or approving our intentions and actions.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
Defense mechanisms
When ID wants something that the superego prohibits, the ego is in the cross, generating anxiety. To deal with this, the defense mechanisms, unconscious strategies that distort reality to relieve tension come into play. Among the best known, we have:
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Repression: ward off the unpleasant content of consciousness.
- Denial: refuse to accept facts of reality (act as if they did not exist).
- Projection: Assign to another person feelings or impulses that are yours.
- Displacement: transfer an impulse or affection from a “dangerous” object to safer.
- Rationalization: Create logical justifications for behaviors powered by unconscious impulses.
- Sublimation: channeling unacceptable impulses for socially valued activities such as arts, sports, intellectual work, etc.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
These mechanisms, according to Freud, are normal and everyone uses them. However, when they are used excessively or rigid, they can lead to neurotic symptoms.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
6. Psychosexual Development Theory
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
One of the best known – and controversial – aspects of Freud’s theory is the phases of psychosexual development, in which libido focuses on different areas of the body throughout childhood.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List {“Ordered”: True}
- WP: List-Itam
- Oral phase (0–1 year)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- The mouth is the main source of pleasure (breastfeeding, pacifier etc.).
- If the child does not go through this phase (ie, if there is early or exaggerated weaning), he may develop oral fixations (as a tendency to eat in excess, nails or smoke in adulthood).
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- Anal phase (1–3 years)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- The focus of pleasure lies in the control of sphincters (pee and poop).
- Conflicts surrounding the unfurl can lead to so-called “anal-expulsive” personalities (disorganized, rebel) or “anal-indentive” (excessively organized, controlling).
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- Phallic phase (3–6 years)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- This is when the child discovers anatomical differences between boys and girls and begins to direct interest to genitalia.
- The famousOedipus complexin the boy (I wish for the mother and rivalry with the father) and, according to Freud, theElectra Complexin the girl (who would have “envy of the penis” and would turn to the father).
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- Latency phase (6–11 years)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- A period of sexual calm, when energies are channeled for friendships, studies, sports.
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- Genital phase (adolescence onwards)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Libido returns to the genitals, but now more mature, enabling more stable affective and sexual relationships.
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
Freud believed that if there was any disturbance or fixation in one of these phases, the person would carry traces of this conflict to adulthood, which could manifest in neurotic symptoms or certain traits of personality.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
Criticism
It is a fact that this theory is not supported by empirical evidence in modern psychology. Many consider Freud’s ideas about “exaggerated” child sexuality or linked to Victorian Vienna values. Still, the historical and conceptual value of this approach remains relevant because it has drawn attention to the importance of childhood in personality formation.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
7. Freud’s main works
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
To better understand the weight of Freudian ideas, it is worth mentioning some of their most influential publications:
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List {“Ordered”: True}
- WP: List-Itam
- Studies on Hysteria (1895)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- In co -authorship with Josef Breuer, he describes cases such as the famous Anna O. and introduces the idea that speech about traumatic events can have therapeutic effect.
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- The interpretation of dreams (1899/1900)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Considered by many to be the masterpiece of Freud, where he describes dreams as achievements disguised as unconscious desires.
- Presents the manifest content model vs. latent content, also discussing the Oedipus complex.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- Three essays on the theory of sexuality (1905)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- It exposes Freud’s view of human sexual development, introducing the idea of child sexuality and psychosexual phases.
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- Totem and taboo (1913)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- It applies psychoanalytic concepts in anthropology and discusses the origin of society, religion and incest taboos, in parallel to the Oedipus Complex.
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- Beyond the pleasure principle (1920)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Here Freud introduces the concept of “death drive” (Thanatos), contrasting it to the life drive (Eros).
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- The ego and the id (1923)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- It brings the formulation of the second topic (ID, ego, superego).
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- The malaise in civilization (1930)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Debate the conflict between individual (sexual and aggressive) impulses and the restrictions imposed by culture, suggesting that civilization inevitably brings a certain degree of unhappiness.
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- Moses and Monotheism (1939)WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Last great work, written when Freud was already exiled in London, discussing religion and history of the Jewish people from the psychoanalytic perspective.
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
Each of these works deepens key concepts that influenced not only psychology, but also art, literature, sociology, anthropology and philosophy throughout the twentieth century.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
8. criticism and controversy
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
Freud has always been a controversial figure, the target of acidic criticism and passionate defenders. Let’s highlight some debate points:
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
(A) Lack of scientific basis
One of the most common arguments against Freud is that his theories would not be “scientific” in Popper, as they are not falsifiable. Many modern studies question the validity of the Universal Oedipus complex, the centrality of libido, and the very notion that most neuroses come from repressed sexual conflicts.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
(b) Excessive emphasis on sexuality
Critics point out that Freud saw practically everything under the lens of sexuality. He even interpreted childish behaviors as endowed with sexual connotations, which bothers many people. In addition, he considered homosexuality as a deviation of development, a view rejected by current standards of science and human rights.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
(C) Vision on women
The famous expression “penis envy” is the target of much criticism. Theoretical like Karen Horney argued that what existed was “envy of status” (because of the patriarchal cultural context) and not necessarily anatomical envy. Freud also suggested that women would have less developed super -suidates, which today is strongly rejected by feminist currents and scholars of developmental psychology.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
(D) Restricted Database
Freud was largely based on case studies of Viennese middle class women. Moreover, there are no neutral records of the sessions, as everything was published from his interpretative perspective, opening room for questions about the validity of his conclusions.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
(E) changes in seduction theory
Initially, Freud stated that hysteria originated in real childhood experiences in childhood, but then retreated, saying that many of these memories would be unconscious fantasies (related to the Oedipus complex). Some critics suggest that he would have “muffled” the occurrence of real abuses to better adapt to the morals of the time or by social pressures.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
Despite all this, many authors argue that Freud has inaugurated a revolutionary way of thinking the mind, and that psychoanalysis should not be seen as an “exact science,” but as an interpretative, almost “hermeneutic” method that opened new fronts of understanding of the human being.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
9. The expansion of psychoanalysis and its followers
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
Freud was not alone. Around figures that helped propagate (or contest) psychoanalysis emerged around it.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Carl Gustav Jung: Collaborated with Freud in his early years, but went away by proposing “analytical psychology”, which includes the concept of “collective unconscious”.
- Alfred Adler: Freud diverged for emphasizing the search for power and the “feeling of inferiority” as engines of personality, founding “individual psychology.”
- Melanie klein: Focused on children’s analysis and created the “psychoanalysis of object relations”, emphasizing the first relationships that the child establishes with caregivers.
- Anna Freud: Freud’s daughter, developed and deepened the study of defense mechanisms. It became an essential figure in child psychoanalysis.
- Karen Horney: Contested the idea of “penis envy” and proposed that culture (not anatomy) would be central to the formation of female personality.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
These disagreements show that psychoanalysis, from an early age, has fragmented into different schools and approaches, but they still drank at the original Freudian source.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
10. Freud’s cultural influence
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
There is no way to underestimate Freud’s impact on Western culture. The idea that dreams have symbolic meanings, that “accidents” of language (flawed acts) can reveal repressed desires, and that childhood shapes adulthood, has profoundly penetrated the arts, literature, cinema, and even everyday vocabulary.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Literature: Authors such as James Joyce and Virginia Woolf explored consciousness flows, much aligned with the idea that there is unconscious content emerging in writing.
- Surrealism: Artists such as Salvador Dalí and René Magritte were inspired by Freud to create works that portray dream and symbolic scenarios, connected to hidden desires and fears.
- Cinema: Directors such as Alfred Hitchcock, Luis Buñuel and even Hollywood writers drank in psychoanalysis to create plots stuffed with unconscious symbolism and conflicts.
- Popular psychology: Terms such as “repression”, “projection”, “retentive anal”, “Freudian Slip” have become part of everyday life, even for those who have never opened a book by Freud.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
Even though today psychoanalysis is competition from other currents (cognitive behavioral, humanist, systemic, etc.), it continues to influence the way we understand subjectivity, the unconscious and the role of the past in our present life.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
11. Freud in current therapeutic practice
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
Classical psychoanalysis, with daily or almost daily sessions, and with the patient lying on the couch, is not the most common form of therapy today – because it is usually a long and expensive process. However, Freud’s ideas inspired several more shorter “psychodynamic” psychotherapeutic approaches, adapted to modern reality.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
In these therapies, it is still valued:
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- The exploitation of childhood and family relationships.
- The analysis of dreams and fantasies, even less dogmatic.
- The idea of “transfer”, in which the patient projects feelings regarding important figures (parents, siblings, partners) in the therapist.
- The importance of making unconscious content aware, leading to greater self -knowledge and insight.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
Meanwhile, other lines, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (TCC), follow different paths, prioritizing more structured methods based on experimental evidence. Still, it is undeniable that they all drank somehow in the original Freudian source, because it was he who showed the effectiveness of talking about what he feels, making room for the idea that the conversation – the insight – can be one of the keys to healing.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
12. Legacy in religion, philosophy and anthropology
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
Freud was not limited to clinical setting or purely psychological discussions. He was an intellectual who ventured into philosophy, anthropology and religion, which further expanded his influence.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Totem and taboo (1913): Compared practices and beliefs of “primitive” tribes with individual psychic phenomena, suggesting that the prohibition of incest and the formation of “totems” were parallel to the Oedipus complex. Although many anthropologists question their conclusions, the work generated debates about the universality of certain impulses.
- The future of an illusion (1927)andMoses and Monotheism (1939): Freud saw religion as a projection of human desires for protection and meaning, interpreting God as an idealized father figure. For many religious theologians and thinkers, this is a reductionist view, but for others it has opened the possibility of new readings about the origin of the sacred.
- Philosophy and Criticism of Culture: Philosophers like Paul Ricoeur have classified Freud as one of the “masters of suspicion” (alongside Marx and Nietzsche), as he put in check the idea that we are completely rational and transparent to ourselves.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
13. Freud in neuroscience and contemporary studies
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
Interestingly, Freud began his career as a neuroanatomist, studying the nervous tissue of fish and eels before turning to the clinic. Nowadays, some neuroscientists are trying to rescue (or reinterpret) certain Freudian ideas in the light of new findings on the brain.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Neuropsychoanalysis: Researchers such as Mark Solms investigate as cerebral mechanisms may correspond to the processes that Freud described at the psychological level. For example, studies on implicit memory give some support to the notion of content not accessible to consciousness.
- Cerebral plasticity and trauma: Discoveries on how early experiences shape neural connections somehow strengthens the Freudian idea that children’s events can have a lasting impact on adulthood.
- Dreaming debates: Although modern science offers multiple theories about the dream function (memory consolidation, emotional regulation, etc.), there are still those seeking symbolic relationships consistent with Freud’s idea that dreams express unconscious desires or conflicts.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
It is important to emphasize that neuroscience does not “confirm” psychoanalytic theory as a whole, but finds interesting points of convergence – especially with regard to the existence of unconscious mental processes and the influence of early experiences on psychic development.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
14. Freud’s great contributions
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
Although many Freud theories have been revised or abandoned, some fundamental contributions remain and are reflected in virtually all areas of psychology:
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List {“Ordered”: True}
- WP: List-Itam
- Concept of unconsciousWP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- The idea that not everything we think and feel is available in conscience has opened doors to better understand phenomena such as implicit bias, memory lapses and emotional blocks.
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- Childhood as a crucial phaseWP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Before Freud, it was common to devalue childhood as an “unimportant” period. He put child development at the center of the debate, inspiring numerous research on attachment, trauma and socialization.
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- Speech -based therapyWP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- The practice of sitting and talking deeply to someone about internal issues was a watershed in the field of mental health. Today, most of the psychotherapies (of various shades) still drink from this source.
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- Defense mechanismsWP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Although some psychoanalysts later expanded or modified the list, the notion that the mind defends itself from painful content through unconscious processes is widely accepted in psychology.
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
- Interdisciplinary applicationWP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Freud was a pioneer to bring psychological analysis to fields such as art, religion, mythology and anthropology, promoting a truly interdisciplinary approach to the human mind.
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
15. Freud’s escape and his last days in London
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
In 1938, Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany. As a Jew, Freud faced persecution and had to flee to London in 1938. He was already dealing with mandible cancer for years, the result of his habit of smoking cigars – he was smoking more than 20 a day in some phases of his life.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
Even in the final stretch, Freud kept writing. In London, he published his last book, “Moses and Monotheism” (1939), which reinterprets the biblical history of Moses from the psychoanalytic perspective and proposes bold theses (such as that Moses would have been Egyptian, not Hebrew).
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
Sigmund Freud died on September 23, 1939, at the age of 83, due to cancer complications. It is said that he would have asked a friendly friend to administer morphine to abbreviate his suffering.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
16. The legacy in psychology and pop culture
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
Psychology and Psychotherapy
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Freud’s clinical practice and psychoanalytic theory motivated the emergence of several other schools. Even those who reject their assumptions (such as behaviorist or cognitive) have developed partly to respond or counteract the Freudian ideas.
- The concept of “Talking Cure) has become a pillar of psychotherapies around the world.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
Art, Cinema and Literature
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Modernist literature and surrealism were deeply marked by concepts such as free association, interpretation of dreams and unconscious symbolism. Works by Salvador Dalí, René Magritte, André Breton and others exploit themes linked to hidden fears and desires.
- In cinema, directors continue to use Freud -inspired psychological angles to create narratives in which the unconscious of the characters is explored.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
Daily life and language
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Expressions such as “Free Act” (Freudian Slip), “Retaining Anal”, “Oedipus Complex” and “Repression” are so rooted that many people use them without even knowing that they come from Freud.
- Concepts such as “unconscious” and “child trauma” have also become part of common sense.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
Discussions about sexuality, gender and identity
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Despite the views today about homosexuality and the role of women, Freud opened the doors for the discussion of sexuality as an integral part of the human psyche, demystifying taboos of the Victorian time.
- Subsequent criticisms and revisions (for example, the works of feminists and women’s psychoanalysts) expanded this debate to include gender, power, identity and culture.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
17. Freud’s presence today
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
Contemporary psychoanalysis
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Psychoanalysis today has several strands, such as Lacanian, Kleiniana, Winnicottiana, each with its emphases and rereading of Freud’s legacy.
- There are also psychoanalysts who try to integrate more modern practices without losing the essence of “listening to the unconscious.”
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
Research and University
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Although many faculties of psychology are mainly supported by behavioral or cognitive approaches, Freud is generally presented as an indispensable historical foundation.
- In some regions (such as France and Argentina), psychoanalysis still has a very strong presence in the formation of psychologists and psychiatrists.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
Scientific and cultural dissemination
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- Magazines, documentaries, movies and series eventually resurrect Freud’s ideas, either to criticize them or to highlight their contributions.
- There is a popular fascination with Freud’s figure, due to his style, provocative theories and his intellectual charisma.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
18. Final Reflections: Freud is worth it?
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
Is the answer to “Freud is still relevant?” It depends on what you are looking for:
/WP: Paragraph
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- For those studying history of psychology, he is indispensable.
- For those who want to understand the human mind in depthFreud is a full plate – even if it is not the final word.
- For those seeking therapy, there are many options. Classical psychoanalysis can be very effective for certain people, especially those who want to explore existential conflicts and are willing to a long -term process. Others prefer more focused approaches to symptoms and behavioral changes (CBT, for example).
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
What is certain is that Freud left a gigantic legacy. Even if we disagree with him at many points, it is undeniable that he has opened a space in culture to talk about previously silenced topics – sexuality, family conflicts, trauma. Moreover, he revealed that most of ourselves are unknown to our own conscience.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
19. Reading tips and sources
/WP: Heading
WP: List
- WP: List-Itam
- “The interpretation of dreams”(Freud, 1900): If you want a deep insight into dreams, this is Marco Zero.
- “Three essays on the theory of sexuality”(FREUD, 1905): To understand the Freudian view of sexual development.
- “The ego and the id”(FREUD, 1923): Introduces the famous psychic structure ID, ego, superego.
- “Beyond the pleasure principle”(FREUD, 1920): Fundamental for those who want to know the concept of death drive.
- “Freud and the unconscious”(Secondary sources, articles and collections): Contemporary analyzes that can help understand criticism and developments of psychoanalysis.
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
WP: List-Itam
/WP: List-Itam
/WP: List
WP: Paragraph
Sites like theFreud Museum London (Freud.org.uk)and theInternet Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Iep.utm.edu)They also bring a lot of quality material.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading {“Level”: 3}
20. Conclusion
/WP: Heading
WP: Paragraph
Sigmund Freud was a thinker who challenged the patterns of his day and scanned the complexity of the human mind. It not only inaugurated psychoanalysis as a clinical practice and theory of the unconscious, but also inserted the psychic dimension (with all its luggage of dreams, desires, conflicts) in the center of cultural discussions.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
It is quite true that their emphasis on child sexuality, the role of libido, and their visions about women and homosexuality are now harshly criticized. But at the same time, we can hardly ignore the strength of its discoveries about the unconscious, the importance of speech in the therapeutic process and the notion that our neuroses can be interpreted and understood.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
Freud opened ways that others traveled and expanded – Jung, Adler, Klein, Winnicott, Lacan and many more. His thinking inspired different fields, from literature to cinema, from religion to philosophy. If there is something right, it is that Freud continues to bother, provoking, fascinating and inspiring even decades after his death.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
Therefore, if you are interested in the universe of mind and like to reflect on what moves us and locks us, it is worth exploring Freud’s ideas with critical and curious look. Not everything will be “absolute truth”, but much of what he proposed still has resonance in the way we understand and discuss feelings, trauma, desires and dreams. At the very least, it is an invitation to better know ourselves and to see that we are not as transparent and rational as we imagine.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Paragraph
In Freud’s own words, “where the id is, the ego must come.” That is, part of our personal growth depends on bringing to light what was once obscured in the depths of the unconscious. In fact, this journey may be long – but undoubtedly transformative.
/WP: Paragraph
WP: Separator
/WP: Separator
WP: Heading
/WP: Heading
