Presents an introduction to the key concepts and developments in psychoanalysis and its impact on modern thought. Charting pivotal moments in the theorization and reception of psychoanalysis, this book provides an account of the concerns and development of Freud's work, as well as his prominent successors, Melanie Klein and Jacques Lacan.

Sharpe, Matthew; Faulkner, Joanne

Introduction: On Understanding Psychoanalysis Part I Sigmund Freud, the father of psychoanalysis 1. Where it was: Freud's biology of the mind 2. Sexuality and its vicissitudes 3. To slip, perchance to dream: Freud on the unconscious PART II Freud's children 4. Precarious love: Kleinian object relations theory 5. Jacques Lacan: Re-reading Freud to the letter 6. What does woman want? Feminism and psychoanalysis PART III Psychoanalysis and its discontented 7. Freud as philosopher? Civilization, art and religion 8. Where psychoanalysis has come to be: Philosophy, science, society and ethics.