The Unconscious

by Sigmund Freud · Das Unbewußte

Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only

Written
1915
Language
German
Length
Short · 40 ppunder 120 pages
Difficulty
Difficult4 of 5 for a first-year reader

We recommendThe Freud Reader, translated by James StracheyW. W. Norton, 1995Peter Gay's anthology contains this and several of the companion metapsychological papers.

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The central paper of the 1915 series on metapsychology. Freud justifies the assumption of unconscious mental processes, distinguishes the descriptive, dynamic and systematic senses of the word, and characterises the system Ucs. as outside time, exempt from contradiction and governed by primary process. The Great Books volume prints it alongside its companions Instincts and Their Vicissitudes and Repression, as well as shorter papers on child sexual enlightenment and the practice of analysis.

No reading guide yet

The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns The Unconscious are verified against each program's published list.

What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.

Browse the 48 works that do have a guide →

Das Unbewußte, Das Unbewusste, Papers on Metapsychology, unconscious, metapsychology, repression, primary process, instincts, drives, cathexis, preconscious, Sigismund Schlomo Freud