Introduction

Summary

We live in an era in modern Western countries that many culture theorists describe as “therapeutic.” Among the most important of the figures who have contributed to this change is Sigmund Freud. It is beyond dispute that his theories and nomenclature have become a part of everyday life. Terms such as the unconscious, ego, and superego have been disseminated not only through psychoanalytic clinical sessions but also through movie screens, television, literature, and social media. Our shared public culture is suffused with unconscious fantasies and psychoanalytic ways of thinking about self, other, and society.