The Problem of Lay-Analyses

THE PROBLEM OF LAY-ANALYSES BY SIGMUND FREUD INTRODUCTION BY DR. S. FERENCZI NEW YORK MCMXXVII BRENTANO'S PUBLISHER COPYRIGHT, 1927, BY BRENTANO’S INC. Manufactured in the United States of America _The Problem of Lay-Analyses_ has been translated by A. Paul Maerker-Branden and _An Autobiographical Study_ has been translated by James Strachey. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 11 THE PROBLEM OF LAY-ANALYSES 25 AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL STUDY 189 INTRODUCTION An all-pervading feeling of profound responsibility to society in general, can be the only reason for a man, by far the most celebrated expert in his special field of endeavor, not to try to maintain a monopoly of his scientific findings, but make them accessible to the public. Such altruism is so much more remarkable if this man happens to be a member of the Æsculapian priesthood, a clan which, not unlike the Holy Roman Church, always assumed, and still assumes to a certain extent, an air of mysticism, for the purpose of barring the layman. For the very same reason—that of maintaining a monopoly—dead and obsolete languages are resorted to, for recording experiences in the form of technical terms, and even for the writing of prescriptions. Of course, it must be admitted that the activities of insufficiently informed people, known as “quacks,” have done great damage to society. On the other hand, nobody will deny any more that the popularizing of modern hygiene, bacteriology, anatomy and pathology has proven ...