The 7 most important books by Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud’s books represent an exceptional legacy of knowledge, practices and reflections that contributed to changing our concept of the human psyche. Likewise, we cannot forget that the revolutionary vision that psychoanalysis represented at the time went beyond the clinical territory to reach the philosophical, the literary, the sociological and, of course, the artistic.

We could say, without fear of being wrong, that many notions of Freudian theory were forever installed in our Western culture in very diverse ways. Sigmund Freud was the man who began to give importance to our dreams as the key to understanding the subconscious.was that figure who was able to analyze the somatic to reach the psychological and who in turn innovated in new techniques to understand a little more the mystery of the mind.

On the other hand, and although it is true that a part of his contributions are somewhat obsolete today, it is worth saying that It would be difficult to understand current psychology without the contribution of the so-called “Viennese sorcerer”. Whoever was a neurologist, psychiatrist, writer and father of psychoanalysis continues to look at us today with his scrutinizing eyes, inviting us to return to his theories, to his unique universe through his work.

Below we detail which are the most interesting books by Sigmund Freud. Those that will undoubtedly help us understand a little more about his own figure and his theories.

1. The interpretation of dreams (1899)

This book published in 1899 marked a revolution in the field of psychology and psychiatry. We are surely facing one of the most relevant Sigmund Freud books and one to which we always want to return or discover for the first time if this is the case.

It can be said that This work was the cornerstone of his career, because with it part of the foundations of psychoanalysis were laid. It explained how and in what way the unconscious of the human being can be accessed and the relevance of this inner universe.

However, nothing was left to chance in Freud’s mind, because he provided a scientific basis, a method where certain images and content could be interpreted. In addition, It was in this book that the concept of “I” first appeared.

2. Studies on hysteria (1895)

“Studies on Hysteria” is undoubtedly a small gem where you can understand the work, approach and method of Sigmund Freud. This is a book that he wrote with his colleague Josep Bruer. In it he describes all his studies and discoveries carried out with those patients who suffered from “hysteria”. Among them is the famous case of Anna O, where the usefulness of psychoanalysis as a treatment for mental illness was established.

3. Three essays on sexual theory (1905)

Among the most important books by Sigmund Freud, one could not be missing that made reference to his studies on the development of sexuality. This set of three essays published in 1905 may now be more anecdotal than scientific, but it is no less interesting. and useful to comprehensively understand the legacy of the father of psychoanalysis.

It should also be said that Freud placed the issue of sexuality as the central axis in all his psychological machinery, an aspect that, as we already know, caused serious disagreements with many of his colleagues, such as Carl Gustav Jung.

4. Psychopathology of everyday life

“The Psychopathology of Everyday Life” is one of Sigmund Freud’s most relevant books. With this elaborate and precise work we can make an outline of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory.

The book examines concepts as relevant as lapses or failed acts, those “Freudian slips.” that allow us to glimpse the horizon of our unconscious and part of what lies behind that border. The most trivial fact, such as forgetting someone’s name, is, according to Freud, due to the intervention of repression, to a censorship that remains lodged in a very precise threshold of our consciousness…

“Remembering is the best way to forget”.

-Sigmund Freud-

5. Totem and Taboo

This is one of Sigmund Freud’s most interesting books from an anthropological point of view. It is a little gem that he wrote in 1912 and whose purpose was something between pretentious, challenging and revolutionary: explain the origins of our species through psychoanalytic interpretations.

In these pages we will find, for example, the classic incest taboo and we will take a journey of discovery through animism, magic and totemism to understand its functionality in our civilization from a Freudian point of view.

6. Introduction to psychoanalysis (1917)

The prologue of this book is written by G. Stanley Hall. In it he already offers us a brief summary of what we are going to find: twenty-eight conferences where Freud establishes with frankness and length how complex it is sometimes to apply psychoanalysis and the limitations it still has.

However, this new school and this new thinking was at the time an entrance to understanding human beings in a way that had not been done until then. The somatic is the reflection of the trauma, the repressed is the border that must be removed to treat the disease, dreams are a channel of the unconscious and neurosis is a flow of anguish where one loses balance to allow oneself to be carried away by the torrent of fears, phobias and anxiety attacks.

“Introduction to psychoanalysis” is undoubtedly a must-read to understand the foundations of the “Viennese sorcerer” theory.

7. Introduction of narcissism (1914)

Sigmund Freud was already using the term “narcissism” long before he published this book in 1914.. The father of psychoanalysis described this behavior as “a perversion”, as a behavior where the person treats his own body similar to that of a sexual object: he treats it with complacency and care because it gives him satisfaction.

In this book we will understand one of Freud’s most defining concepts, the one where narcissism is understood as
a libidinous act of selfishness that has a very clear purpose: self-preservation.

To conclude, although there are many more books by Sigmund Freud, many more essays and articles, These suggestions summarize quite well the foundations of his legacy and his invaluable contribution to psychology and our culture. The man who wanted to give meaning to our dreams not only is still alive thanks to all his extensive work, which includes these 7 proposals that we have described to you, but he also lives far above us: a small crater on the Moon carries your name.

Bibliographic references

Books by Sigmund Freud. “Studies on hysteria” (1895)

Freud, Sigmund (2013). “The interpretation of dreams”. Madrid: Akal

Freud, Sigmund (2013). “Studies on hysteria” Barcelona: Pensar Collection

Freud, Sigmund (2012). “Three essays on sexuality” Editorial Alliance

Freud, Sigmund (2011). “Psychopathology of everyday life” Alianza Editorial

Freud, Sigmund (2011). “Totem and Taboo”. Editorial Alliance

Freud, Sigmund (2019). “Introduction to narcissism” Editorial Alliance

Freud, Sigmund (2010). “Introduction to psychoanalysis” Madrid: Akal

You might be interested…