THE PROBLEM OF LAY-ANALYSES [Illustration: [Logo]] BY SIGMUND FREUD INTRODUCTION BY DR. S. FERENCZI [Illustration: [Logo]] NEW YORK MCMXXVII BRENTANO’S ▾ PUBLISHER COPYRIGHT, 1927, BY BRENTANO’S INC. Manufactured in the United States of America _The Problem of Lay-Analyses_ has been translated by A. Paul Maerker-Branden and _An Autobiographical Study_ has been translated by James Strachey. CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 11 THE PROBLEM OF LAY-ANALYSES 25 AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL STUDY 189 INTRODUCTION An all-pervading feeling of profound responsibility to society in general, can be the only reason for a man, by far the most celebrated expert in his special field of endeavor, not to try to maintain a monopoly of his scientific findings, but make them accessible to the public. Such altruism is so much more remarkable if this man happens to be a member of the Æsculapian priesthood, a clan which, not unlike the Holy Roman Church, always assumed, and still assumes to a certain extent, an air of mysticism, for the purpose of barring the layman. For the very same reason—that of maintaining a monopoly—dead and obsolete languages are resorted to, for recording experiences in the form of technical terms, and even for the writing of prescriptions. Of course, it must be admitted that the activities of insufficiently informed people, known as “quacks,” have done great damage to society. On the other hand, nobody will deny any more that the popularizing of modern hygiene, bacteriology, anatomy and pathology has proven a boon to humanity in general. It is typical of the Father of Psychoanalysis, imbued with a deep sense of fairness towards mankind, that he has never indulged in a narrow-minded, professional point of view. The mere accident that it remained for the science of medicine to discover the Psychology of the Unconscious and Psychoanalysis as such, was not enough reason for Sigmund Freud to treat his discovery as a strictly medical preserve. Very helpful to Freud in this respect was the fact that he has a striking gift to make himself easily understood to the laity, in a manner usually not to be found in people specializing in the intricacies of science. Doubtless, Sigmund Freud’s astonishing gift to be his own best popularizer, unquestionably takes root in his ability to fathom the soul of others, to speak to each and everyone in their own language, as it were.