001 - Author's Preface and Translator's Introduction

Totem and Taboo Resemblances Between the Mental Lives of Savages and Neurotics is a thought-provoking work by Sigmund Freud, first published in German in 1913 under the title Totem und Tabu Einige Übereinstimmungen im Seelenleben der Wilden und der Neurotiker. This collection features four insightful essays, originally published in the journal Imago between 1912 and 1913, where Freud skillfully applies psychoanalytic principles to archaeology, anthropology, and the study of religion. The essays delve into fascinating topics such as the horror of incest, the complexities of taboo and emotional ambivalence, the interplay of animism, magic, and the omnipotence of thoughts, and the intriguing return of totemism in childhood. (Introduction by Wikipedia)