Sigmund Freud

Biography

(1856-1939)

As the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud was responsible for mainstreaming the idea of a connection between mind and body, thought and action, conscious and subconscious. His ideas of the id, ego, and super ego attempted to explain all human behavior through our response to sexual urges, and while many of his psychological theories have proven incomplete, half true, and in some cases, completely false, his underlying philosophy inspired generations of new psychological inquiry and led to a popularization of a new vocabulary for talking about human behavior. Thanks to Freud one can 'repress' emotion, be 'anal retentive', have an 'oral fixation,' experience 'penis envy,' and suffer from an 'oedipal complex.' His professed goal was to find the scientific implications of everyday reality, and his endless interviews, research notes, and publications attest to the value he placed on individual human experience.

(Compiled by Joey Franklin)

See also

Essays by Sigmund Freud

Forgetting of impressions and resolutions

No person forgets to carry out actions that seem important to himself without exposing himself to the suspicion of being a sufferer from mental weakness.
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Essays