Civilization and Its Discontents

Sigmund Freud

W. W. Norton & Company, 2005 - History - 192 pages

Civilization and Its Discontents may be Sigmund Freud's best-known work. Originally published in 1930, it seeks to answer ultimate questions: What influences led to the creation of civilization? How did it come to be? What determines its course? In this seminal volume of twentieth-century thought, Freud elucidates the contest between aggression, indeed the death drive, and its adversary eros. He speaks to issues of human creativity and fulfillment, the place of beauty in culture, and the effects of repression.

Louis Menand, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Metaphysical Club, contributor to The New Yorker, and professor of English at Harvard University, reflects on the importance of this work in intellectual thought and why it has become such a landmark book for the history of ideas.

Not available in hardcover for decades, this beautifully rendered anniversary edition will be a welcome addition to readers' shelves

Contents

• I: 9
• II: 35
• III: 49
• IV: 67
• V: 86
• VI: 98
• VII: 111
• VIII: 120
• IX: 137

About the author

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) is one of the twentieth century's greatest minds and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology. His many works include The Ego and the Id; An Outline of Psycho-Analysis; Inhibitions; Symptoms and Anxiety; New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis; Civilization and Its Discontent, and others.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Civilization and Its Discontents; Volume 0 of Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud Series
• Author: Sigmund Freud
• Editor: James Strachey
• Translated by: James Strachey
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company, 2005
• ISBN: 0393059952, 9780393059953
• Length: 192 pages
• Subjects: History / Civilization; Psychology / General; Psychology / Movements / Psychoanalysis; Psychology / Personality; Psychology / Social Psychology