FROM THE PUBLISHER

Over the more than 60 years since the death of Sigmund Freud, his terminology and the ideas behind it have been distorted, oversimplified, and misrepresented, even as they have woven themselves into the fabric of popular culture. Millions of nonprofessionals are familiar with Freudian terms as neurosis, psychosis, ego, oral fixation, and Oedipus complex, and probably believe that they understand their meanings. But how did the founder of psychoanalysis, himself, define these terms? Did he change or amplify these definitions over time? To what extent do popular definitions reflect Freud's own understanding of these terms?