Freud''s Interpretation of Dreams - A Reappraisal

Freud always regarded The Interpretation of Dreams, and in particular its thesis that dreams fulfill wishes, as his landmark contribution and the scaffolding of his subsequent work. Susan Sugarman, after carefully examining the text and scrutinizing a range of Freud's other works, shows that the dreams book is not and cannot be that scaffolding. For, not only does his argument on dreams falter, but his reasoning elsewhere - in his case histories, his accounts of phenomena of ordinary waking life, and even his avowedly speculative writing - displays a strength and precision his account of dreams lacks. She concludes by exploring what is then left of the dreams theory and Freud's overall vision of the mind.

List of contents

Introduction; Part I. The Interpretation of Dreams (1900): A note on Freud's text; 1. The interpretation of dreams chapters 1-4: background, method, and the hypothesis of wish-fulfillment; 2. The interpretation of dreams chapters 5-6: if dreams fulfill wishes with what material, and how might they form?; 3. The interpretation of dreams chapter 7: the psychology of dream processes; 4. The interpretation of dreams: a preliminary appraisal; Part II. Freud's Other Works; 5. The analysis of psychoneuroses: Elisabeth von R and the 'Wolf Man'; 6. Phenomena of ordinary waking life; 7. Speculative works; 8. Freud on dreams.

About the author

Susan Sugarman is Professor of Psychology at Princeton University, USA, and a former Fulbright scholar and Guggenheim fellow. Her most recent book is What Freud Really Meant: A Chronological Reconstruction of his Theory of the Mind (Cambridge University Press, 2016).

Summary

For students, lay readers and experts, this book features a careful reconstruction and critical reconsideration of The Interpretation of Dreams, which Freud construed as the cornerstone of his oeuvre. Sugarman identifies foundational weaknesses that call such characterization into question and assesses their implication for Freud's larger project.

Foreword

A flaw in Freud's Interpretation of Dreams prompts reevaluation of his view of the work as his seminal achievement.

Product details

• Authors: Susan Sugarman, Susan (Princeton University Sugarman, Sugarman Susan
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.10.2023
• EAN: 9781009244169
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0924416-9
• No. of pages: 194
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > Psychology > Theoretical psychology; Non-fiction book > Psychology, esoterics, spirituality, anthroposophy > Psychology: general, reference works; Social sciences, law, business > Sociology > Sociological theories; PSYCHOLOGY / Emotions, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Sociology / General, Psychology, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Anthropology / General, PSYCHOLOGY / Movements / General, PSYCHOLOGY / Cognitive Psychology & Cognition, Psychology: emotions, Cognition & cognitive psychology, Psychological theory, systems, schools and viewpoints, Sociology & anthropology, Psychological theory & schools of thought, Cognition and cognitive psychology, Sociology and anthropology