Author

Sigmund Freud

Portrait of Sigmund Freud.
Portrait of Sigmund Freud. Source · Public domain

Frequently Cited

The Interpretation of Dreams

1899 (dated 1900) · 19th Century · Philosophy

Die Traumdeutung appeared in November 1899 with the date 1900 on its title page, and Freud regarded it as his most important book. Its central claim is that dreams are meaningful psychic acts that can be interpreted, and that every dream, properly analysed, proves to be the fulfilment of a wish.

high medical relevanceMadness / MindIdentity SelfFamily
Civilization and Its Discontents

1930 · Early 20th Century · Philosophy

Freud's late essay, in German Das Unbehagen in der Kultur ('the uneasiness in culture'), asks why civilized people, who have built so much for their own protection, are so often unhappy. It is written in eight short chapters in a conversational, self-questioning style.