Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis

INTRODUCTORY LECTURES ON PSYCHO-ANALYSIS INTRODUCTORY LECTURES ON PSYCHO-ANALYSIS A COURSE OF TWENTY-EIGHT LECTURES DELIVERED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIENNA BY PROF. SIGM. FREUD, M.D., LL.D. VIENNA AUTHORIZED ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY JOAN RIVIERE WITH A PREFACE BY ERNEST JONES, M.D. _President of the International Psycho-Analytical Association_ PREFACE Among the many difficulties confronting those who wish to acquire a knowledge of psycho-analysis, not the least has been the absence of a suitable text-book with which they could begin their studies. They have hitherto had their choice among three classes of book, against each of which some objection could be urged from the point of view of the beginner. They could pick their way through the heterogeneous collection of papers, such as those published by Freud, Brill, Ferenczi, and myself, which were not arranged on any coherent plan and were also for the greater part addressed to those already having some knowledge of the subject. Or they could struggle with more systematic volumes, such as those by Hitschmann and Barbara Low, which suffer from condensation because of the difficulty of having to compress so much into a small space. Or, finally, it might be their fate to come across one of the numerous books, which need not be mentioned by name, that purport to give an adequate account of psycho-analysis, but whose authors have neglected the necessary preliminary of acquiring a proper knowledge of the subject thems...