Radical Claims in Freudian Psychoanalysis: Point/Counterpoint, edited by M. Andrew Holowchak, features pro and con essays on some of the most extreme Freudian claims, including the Freudian unconscious and the Oedipus complex. The format of this volume allows for a close examination of the contentious issues in some of the most radical claims of Freud's psychoanalysis from different viewpoints.

2020 American Board & Academy of Psychoanalysis (ABAPsa) book award winner! Only by the method of free-association could Sigmund Freud have demonstrated how human consciousness is formed by the repression of thoughts and feelings that we consider dangerous. Yet today most therapists ignore this truth about our psychic life. This book offers a critique of the many brands of contemporary psychoanalysis and psychotherapy that have forgotten Freud's revolutionary discovery. Barnaby B. Barratt offers a fresh and compelling vision of the structure and function of the human psyche, building on the pioneering work of theorists such as André Green and Jean Laplanche, as well as contemporary deconstruction, feminism, and liberation philosophy. He explores how ‘drive’ or desire operates dynamically between our biological body and our mental representations of ourselves, of others, and of the world we inhabit. This dynamic vision not only demonstrates how the only authentic freedom from our internal imprisonments comes through free-associative praxis, it also shows the extent to which other models of psychoanalysis (such as ego-psychology, object-relations, self-psychology and interpersonal-relations) tend to stray disastrously from Freud's original and revolutionary insights. This is a vision that understands the central issues that imprison our psychic lives - the way in which the reflections of consciousness are based on the repression of our innermost desires, the way in which our erotic vitality is so often repudiated, and the way in which our socialization oppressively stifles our human spirit. Radical Psychoanalysis restores to the discipline of psychoanalysis the revolutionary impetus that has so often been lost. It will be essential reading for psychoanalysts, psychoanalytic psychotherapists, mental health practitioners and students and academics with an interest in the history of psychoanalysis.

Freud’s Theory of Dreams: A Philosophico-Scientific Perspective evaluates Freud’s theory of dreams in light of the many philosophical and scientific criticisms that have been brought against it. Michael T. Michael addresses the validity of Freud’s method of dream interpretation, the scientific nature of the theory, and how Freud’s ideas bear up to modern research on dreams, engaging on the way with critics such as Ludwig Wittgenstein, Clark Glymour, Karl Popper, Adolf Grünbaum, and J. Allan Hobson. Michael reaches beyond the traditional “for” and “against” polarity to offer a more balanced perspective on Freud’s theory. He argues that reports of the demise of Freud’s theory have been greatly exaggerated, and instead the theory is a live hypothesis fully deserving of continued scientific exploration.

Influential, exciting and often controversial, psychoanalytic theory has had a major impact in the humanities and social sciences. In a new edition of this classic book, Anthony Elliott masterfully introduces the reader to psychoanalytic theory. - Discusses leading psychoanalytic theorists - from Freud to Lacan, Klein to Kristeva, Žižek to Laplanche; - Examines the political and cultural dimensions of psychoanalytic studies, from feminism to postmodernism; and - Contains new material on Lacanian and post-Lacanian theory, the post-Kleinian psychoanalyst Wilfred Bion, psychoanalytic feminism and deconstructive psychoanalysis. Written by one of the world's leading social theorists, this engaging and influential text is essential reading for anyone wanting to learn about psychoanalytic theory and its cultural importance in our lives. New to this Edition: - New and fully revised edition with new material on theories

Originally published in 1999 Social Theory and Psychoanalysis in Transition is a benchmark critique of Freudian theory in which a dialogue between the Frankfurt School, the Lacanian tradition and post-Lacanian developments in critical and feminist theory is developed. Considering afresh the relations between self and society, Elliot argues for the importance of imagination and the unconscious in understanding issues about the self and self-identity, ideology and power, sexual difference and gender.

Agnes Petocz uncovers a theory of symbolism based on investigation of the development of Freud's ideas throughout works.