Humor - History & Criticism, Psychoanalytical Psychology, Mapped Categories - PubIt, Psychology - History, General & Miscellaneous Humor, Dreams & Dream Interpretation, Cognitive Psychology

Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)

Name: Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious (Barnes & Noble Digital Library)
Author: Sigmund Freud
ISBN: 9781411435520

by Sigmund Freud, A. A. Brill (Translator)

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Overview

One of Freud’s most famous works, this 1905 study on the psychology of humor claims that comedy fills a subconscious desire to brush away inhibitions and feel pleasure. Here, Freud considers: the joke (or “wit”) as a defense mechanism; dirty jokes; ethnic humor; the joke as a way to express suppressed thoughts and feelings; and the interplay between the id, ego, and superego in generating humor.

About the Author, Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology. One of the most influential figures of twentieth century thought, Freud won followers and made enemies with his bold theories of the unconscious and the importance of sexual impulses, as well as the tripartite structure of id, ego, and superego.

Abraham Arden Brill (1874-1948) was an Austrian-born psychiatrist who immigrated to the United States at age thirteen. He graduated from New York University and earned his M.D. at Columbia University, teaching at both institutions later in life. After studying with Jung, he became a prominent spokesman for psychoanalysis. He translated most of Freud’s major works.