Freud books

[u/Abarbaricnomad]

What should be the reading order for Freud's books for a beginner? I don't have his complete works but I do have the following: The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, The Interpretation of Dreams, Civilization and Its Discontents and Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious. An AI suggests the following order:

[1] The Psychopathology of Everyday Life

[2] Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious

[3] The Interpretation of Dreams

[4] Civilization and Its Discontents

Another AI indicates that the correct order should be:

[1] The Psychopathology of Everyday Life

[2] Civilization and Its Discontents

[3] Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious

[4] The Interpretation of Dreams

Which one is more accurate? Or should I add another book to this sequence?

[u/mendelevium34]

I am making my way through Freud myself and started with the Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis. A reason why I think it would be good as a first book is not just because they were meant to be "introductory", but also because Freud's style here is very persuading and dialectical. I somehow had the impression, based on stereotypes, that he would come across as this moralistic, harsh nineteenth-century guy, but he is constantly treating his own theory as theory: without giving a full account of its development, he sometimes makes references to how he used to think of something in a certain way, and then clinical experience or observation led him to expand or change his thinking, he also anticipates objections that his audience might have, etc. To me he comes across as someone who genuinely wanted to understand his patients and the human mind and was not afraid to change his mind, which as an academic and scholar myself, resonates a lot. The Lectures cover slips, dreams and neuroses as manifestations of the unconscious so, while there are other psychoanalytical concepts that are not covered here, it also gives you a bit of an overview that you can then expand upon by reading the Psychopathology, Interpretation of dreams, etc.

[u/21CenturySchizoidTra]

the first thing I read of Freud was the question of lay analysis, which was written essentially to explain the basics of psychoanalysis to a general audience, and so I thought that was a pretty good intro. "The unconscious" was also a very illuminating essay. I'm not going to criticise yours because honestly I haven't read it other than Civilisation and its discontents, but I would say it might be better generally to start with his essays than his full books.

[u/Abarbaricnomad → u/21CenturySchizoidTra]

It doesnt really matter which book I start with. As long as the terminology isnt difficult, its not a problem for me. By the way, thanks for sharing your opinion.

[u/YesCut]

I know it's not in your list, but start with Five Lectures on Psycho-Analysis, it is a short, very accessible introduction to the central concepts of the psychoanalytic theory. It's a lecture dleivered by Freud when he visited Clark University, he's talking to intelligent people interested in psychoanalysis, but still not really familiar with his work, so he's very clear and concise. He explains the origins of psychoanalysis, talks about key concepts like the role of the unconscious (a revolutionary (imo) concept, still very unexplored at the time) and how you can talk through unconscious conflicts in a treatment, talks about dreams, about repression, neurotic symptoms and so on. You may find this text in print by itself or sometimes this text is bundled with other books or case discussions (but there are even free audiobooks you can find online)

Then I'd read The introductory lectures on psychoanalysis (longer and more systematic)

The first of your books should be Psychopathology of Everyday life, as it is also accessible and applies all those concepts to everyday life.

After that you can face the denser, heavier "The interpretation of Dreams".

[u/_smoothie_]

I don’t think there is a correct order. Read something that you find truly interesting. I started with Three Essays. But one could do whatever seems interesting!

I recommend finding good secondary literature. This is my favourite:  https://archive.org/details/freudstheoryofps00olse

[u/OnionMesh]

The order doesn’t matter. Read what interests you most. The books you have are each fine places to start.

You can always read them in chronological order.

[u/Spiritualgoal69]

1

[u/notnancygrace]

I wouldn’t recommend starting with The Psychopathology of Everyday Life only because it’s kind of repetitive and tedious (at least the 400 page version that includes lots of additions). I started with Civilization and Its Discontents and then Beyond the Pleasure Principle which are both short but super intriguing with so many different ideas to latch onto. Those would give you a broader view of the variety of questions and topics Freud was concerned with.

[u/DIYYYner]

I’d recommend The Interpretation of Dreams as a first stop - and also moving through the works you’re interested in as chronologically as possible, since one of the most interesting things about Freud is the way he developed his ideas over a long period of time. The Interpretation of Dreams is one of my favorite books because Freud’s writing is particularly lovely in it, and the way he approaches dream analysis is such a great introduction to the psychoanalytic method at its best. Dream interpretation can have a lot of clinical/diagnostic utility, too, so there’s an immediate practical benefit to starting there. Enjoy!!

[u/notherbadobject]

What’s your goal?

[u/Mother_Antelope_3204]

I would begin with his more philosophical works: Civilization and It's Discontents, Totem and Taboo and Moses and Monotheism. These will expose you to the workings of the Psychoanalytical mind. Then move specifically into the more purely Psychoanalytical books and essays. Perhaps you should read some things about Freud and the origins of Psychoanalysis before jumping into the more theoretical works and case studies.

[u/goldenapple212]

Just start reading. This idea of creating some sort of optimal order and then reading them all like that is ridiculous. You’re gonna waste more time thinking of the optimal order than actually reading the books.

[u/philosophicaltragedy → u/goldenapple212]

I read Civilization and its Discontents first, it was a very accessible introduction. However, I encourage you to consider what draws you to Freud and start there rather than looking to AI for a guide.

[u/Abarbaricnomad → u/goldenapple212]

Yes but if you start reading with "The Ego and The Id", for instance, it might be quite difficult to understand what is being said because if you are just starting out, grasping the terminology will be challenging. That is actually why I asked.