Few figures have had as decisive and fundamental an impact on the course of modern cultural history as Sigmund Freud. Freudian theory and psychoanalytic thinking inform the ways in which we perceive ourselves and our society, and remain vital and relevant to some of our most pressing societal issues and concerns, from drug abuse and aggression to gender and sexuality. Yet few figures have inspired such sustained controversy and intense debate as Freud has, and his theoretical and cultural legacies continue to be hotly contested. The exhibition "Sigmund Freud: Conflict and Culture," mounted by the Library of Congress, explores the influence of Freud and psychoanalysis on twentieth-century culture and examines some of his central ideas concerning the individual and society. Contemporary evaluations, emerging from changes in scientific knowledge and ideological priorities, have changed the way we view Freud's contributions to our understanding of self and society. This volume, meant to reflect the lively and eclectic spirit of the show, is a gathering of variously challenging, erudite, and amusing essays by scholars, critics, and writers. Grouped into four broad parts, the essays exemplify the diversity of approaches to Freudian theory and psychoanalysis. "Freud Writing and Working" concentrates on the sources he drew upon, his writing, rhetoric, and work habits. The pieces in "Interpretation, Suggestion, and Agency" deal with the evolution of Freud's theories and technique. "Absorption and Diffusion" concerns the spread of psychoanalysis, its reception, and its effects on our culture. "Contested Legacies" presents a variety of perspectives on what Freud has left to our time, and the conflicts resulting from our shifting conceptions of gender, the mind, and science. Freud: Conflict and Culture presents a fascinating spectrum of views on one of the most influential figures of the modern age.

Freud's Legacy in the Global Era presents a radically new perspective on Freud's relevance today as a forerunner of the contemporary evolutionary neurosciences also steeped in the tradition of humanistic thought. Carlo Strenger shows how globalisation has produced new theoretical, practical and clinical issues for psychoanalysis, which can best be understood by drawing on influences from economics, sociology and philosophy. Strenger's lively case histories demonstrate a new psychoanalytic viewpoint engaged with surrounding scientific disciplines in an enriching interchange, and open to the fascinating cultural and social developments that shape patients' reality, lives and concerns in a global era. This book will be of interest to psychoanalysts, psychoanalytic and psychodynamically oriented psychotherapists and to all mental health professionals interested in the interaction of psychoanalysis and other disciplines from a global viewpoint as well as to lay readers keen to understand the complexity of globalized life.

Philip Rieff earned recognition as one of the most profound social theorists of culture and authority of the twentieth century. Through such works as Freud: The Mind of the Moralist and The Triumph of the Therapeutic, he proved himself an incisive interpreter of Freud and his legacy. His work now culminates with the long-awaited trilogy Sacred Order/Social Order, a three-volume work on social theory and contemporary culture. Arnold Eisen chose the selections for the final volume of the trilogy in consultation with Philip Rieff. All of the selections bear on the nature of the "Jew of culture." Rieff explicitly and consistently identified with this ideal-type, named for the first time in Fellow Teachers, and crucial in one form or another to everything he wrote. For the rest of Rieff's long career, "Jew of culture" would serve as foil, countertype, corrective, and adversary to the "therapeutics" who represented both Rieff's analysands and his antagonists. The purpose of this collection of Rieff's writings, undertaken at his suggestion, is to trace the evolution of the "Jew of culture" over the course of his work. In doing so we gain particular insight into his distinctive theory of society and the self; we also come to better understand the theorist.