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Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, The Ego and the Id

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Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Beyond the Pleasure Principle, The Ego and the Id

By: Sigmund Freud
Narrated by: Derek Le Page
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Here are three key works by Sigmund Freud which, published in the first decades of the 20th century, underpinned his developing views and had such a dramatic effect on world society. In the uncompromising Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905), he declared that 'sexual aberrations' are not limited to the insane but exist in 'normal' people to a greater or lesser degree. The three essays are divided between sexual perversions, childhood sexuality and puberty. Twenty-first century society has opened and developed the subject considerably, but it is still salutary to return to one of the most important early discussions. Freud presents the force of the unconscious in the sexual instinct and complexes such as the castration complex and the Oedipus complex, the latter of which he first noted in The Interpretation of Dreams. In Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920) Freud corrects his earlier view that libido or sexual drive is the overwhelming force behind human activity. Now he balances the drive of 'Eros' with 'Thanatos', the destruction or death principle. Along with the pleasure principle, he argues, there lies a tendency for people to self-harm in many ways, either literally or by replaying painful events or thoughts of the past - deliberately invoking 'unpleasure' (psychological discomfort or pain). Beyond the Pleasure Principle remains one of the most criticised texts in the Freud oeuvre.

In The Ego and the Id (1923), Freud outlined his study of the human psyche, the result of many years of psychoanalytical practice. Based on the concepts of the 'conscious' and 'unconscious', three elements in the psychic apparatus come into play - the id (instinctual trends), the superego (the critical and moralising role) and the ego (the more conscious control that decides between the two). In the recording, the three works presented here are not only of interest in themselves but show the developing nature of Freud's thought and work over two decades. They are read clearly by Derek Le Page.(P)2017 Ukemi Productions Ltd Classics Human Sexuality Neuroscience & Neuropsychology Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
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Book 1 and 3 are good. Book 2 didn't suit me at all - pseudo anatomical conjecture with a special vocabulary of undefined terms. Overall these requires considerable concentration to follow in audiobook form. A good way to get a strong flavour of Freud, but I'll need to read the text slowly to fully absorb it.

Mixed bag

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Freud's ideas have unfairly been propagated against for various reasons. Only by giving into his actual work and not reading his ideas from textbooks or articles one can appreciate and understand the depth and accuracy of his theories.

I would recommend this collection to anyone wants to formulate their own opinions and not replicate opinions.

Listened to this but also studied from a hard copy as Freud's sentences are very dense and a lot of pauses are required, even rereading entire paragraphs to grasp a full meaning. I think purely listening to it can leave you with superficial engagement with the material. The narrator kept the style of speech original though.

Outstanding

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