Freud applies psychoanalysis to anthropology, comparing the beliefs of tribal societies with the neuroses of individuals. He examines the incest taboo, the practice of totemism, and the idea that taboos, like obsessive symptoms, come from ambivalent feelings. In the final essay he proposes a primal horde in which sons killed their father and then established totem and taboo out of guilt, and he connects it to the Oedipus complex.
Students of psychology, anthropology, and religion will find a key text in the history of ideas, even though his anthropology has been widely criticized. It is best read as a work showing how Freud tried to extend his theory to culture as a whole.
Deep, inward-looking, contemplative and open-ended; a demanding read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1913
- Language
- EN
