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On Creativity and the Unconscious
On Creativity and the Unconscious: The Psychology of Art, Literature, Love & Religion brings together Freud's important essays on the many expressions of creativity—including art, literature, love, dreams, and spirituality. This diverse collection includes "The 'Uncanny,'" "The Moses of Michelangelo," "The Psychology of Love," "The Relation of the Poet to Day-Dreaming," "On War and Death," and "Dreams and Telepathy."
309 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1976
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About the author
Sigmund Freud
4,360 books8,492 followersDr. Sigismund Freud (later changed to Sigmund) was a neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, who created an entirely new approach to the understanding of the human personality. He is regarded as one of the most influential—and controversial—minds of the 20th century.
In 1873, Freud began to study medicine at the University of Vienna. After graduating, he worked at the Vienna General Hospital. He collaborated with Josef Breuer in treating hysteria by the recall of painful experiences under hypnosis. In 1885, Freud went to Paris as a student of the neurologist Jean Charcot. On his return to Vienna the following year, Freud set up in private practice, specialising in nervous and brain disorders. The same year he married Martha Bernays, with whom he had six children.
Freud developed the theory that humans have an unconscious in which sexual and aggressive impulses are in perpetual conflict for supremacy with the defences against them. In 1897, he began an intensive analysis of himself. In 1900, his major work 'The Interpretation of Dreams' was published in which Freud analysed dreams in terms of unconscious desires and experiences.
In 1902, Freud was appointed Professor of Neuropathology at the University of Vienna, a post he held until 1938. Although the medical establishment disagreed with many of his theories, a group of pupils and followers began to gather around Freud. In 1910, the International Psychoanalytic Association was founded with Carl Jung, a close associate of Freud's, as the president. Jung later broke with Freud and developed his own theories.
After World War One, Freud spent less time in clinical observation and concentrated on the application of his theories to history, art, literature and anthropology. In 1923, he published 'The Ego and the Id', which suggested a new structural model of the mind, divided into the 'id, the 'ego' and the 'superego'.
In 1933, the Nazis publicly burnt a number of Freud's books. In 1938, shortly after the Nazis annexed Austria, Freud left Vienna for London with his wife and daughter Anna.
Freud had been diagnosed with cancer of the jaw in 1923, and underwent more than 30 operations. He died of cancer on 23 September 1939.
In 1873, Freud began to study medicine at the University of Vienna. After graduating, he worked at the Vienna General Hospital. He collaborated with Josef Breuer in treating hysteria by the recall of painful experiences under hypnosis. In 1885, Freud went to Paris as a student of the neurologist Jean Charcot. On his return to Vienna the following year, Freud set up in private practice, specialising in nervous and brain disorders. The same year he married Martha Bernays, with whom he had six children.
Freud developed the theory that humans have an unconscious in which sexual and aggressive impulses are in perpetual conflict for supremacy with the defences against them. In 1897, he began an intensive analysis of himself. In 1900, his major work 'The Interpretation of Dreams' was published in which Freud analysed dreams in terms of unconscious desires and experiences.
In 1902, Freud was appointed Professor of Neuropathology at the University of Vienna, a post he held until 1938. Although the medical establishment disagreed with many of his theories, a group of pupils and followers began to gather around Freud. In 1910, the International Psychoanalytic Association was founded with Carl Jung, a close associate of Freud's, as the president. Jung later broke with Freud and developed his own theories.
After World War One, Freud spent less time in clinical observation and concentrated on the application of his theories to history, art, literature and anthropology. In 1923, he published 'The Ego and the Id', which suggested a new structural model of the mind, divided into the 'id, the 'ego' and the 'superego'.
In 1933, the Nazis publicly burnt a number of Freud's books. In 1938, shortly after the Nazis annexed Austria, Freud left Vienna for London with his wife and daughter Anna.
Freud had been diagnosed with cancer of the jaw in 1923, and underwent more than 30 operations. He died of cancer on 23 September 1939.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 19, 2015
It’s a rich book, with a lot of case studies, which I happened to read while preparing a thesis for a course in medical nutrition that I was taking as hobby. What I retained the most is the following:
Everything that we experience, through our senses and emotions, filters through a shift and stores in our conscious, catalogued by certain associations that are unknown to us. Later, when we encounter a trigger, these stored information flow out from our unconscious, in a manner that is personal to each one of us, and then form a unique pattern that no one else can conceive.
Hence, I think, comes the importance of suppressing our logic at the initial stages of creativity, and let our unconscious dominate. Easy as it may seem, I find it extremely difficult to let down my logic, and trust my instincts.
But, when I succeed, I’m amazed at what my unconscious can create from its database.
Everything that we experience, through our senses and emotions, filters through a shift and stores in our conscious, catalogued by certain associations that are unknown to us. Later, when we encounter a trigger, these stored information flow out from our unconscious, in a manner that is personal to each one of us, and then form a unique pattern that no one else can conceive.
Hence, I think, comes the importance of suppressing our logic at the initial stages of creativity, and let our unconscious dominate. Easy as it may seem, I find it extremely difficult to let down my logic, and trust my instincts.
But, when I succeed, I’m amazed at what my unconscious can create from its database.
June 1, 2017
This was a reread of a text assigned for a creative writing class taught by Laurie Scheck (spelling?), a poet in her own right and one of my favorite teachers during my college days at Rutgers University. My favorite essay remains 'The Uncanny', ecpecially the section on the doppelgänger. Agent Cooper from David Lynch's new season of Twin Peaks had already brought all of that back for me, but I'd completely forgotten (suppressed?) everything about 'The Devouring Vagina'. That section made me realize why I can't watch anything from the Alien film franchise.
February 16, 2016
This book contains a few interesting articles from Freud, and a few that weren't engaging for various reasons (sexist, obviously incorrect, ridiculous, and highly speculative, to name a few.)
"The Relation of the Poet to Day-Dreaming" was an interesting piece in which he attempts to determine how poets and authors and wordsmiths manage to connect with their readers. As a writer, I found a lot of what he was saying to be true and applicable.
"The Uncanny" was perhaps my favorite article from the book. Having a degree in robotics and a fascination with animatronics, the Uncanny Valley is something that I've come face-to-face with many times. And Freud successfully explains, in my opinion, why human animatronics that are slightly off are creepier than cartoon versions of the same figure. The feeling that the realistic human is so familiar that it should move in predictable ways is jarred by the realization that the smile doesn't move smoothly enough and the head jerks ever so slightly as it looks to the right. The uncanny comes from the familiar. And, uncannily, I was reading House of Leaves at the same time, which also delved into the uncanny from Heidegger's account, which Freud references in this article. House of Leaves was eerie enough.
"On War and Death" was interesting because the Paris attack happened the day before I started reading it. It dove into the reasons why people feel so compelled to fight each other and how death is either viewed as a tragedy or as a necessary evil depending the circumstances in which it occurred.
The rest of the articles were forgettable. They didn't leave enough of an impression for me to remember them now, a month after finishing the book. They were all hit or miss, but I would recommend finding the above three individually if they sound at all interesting to you.
"The Relation of the Poet to Day-Dreaming" was an interesting piece in which he attempts to determine how poets and authors and wordsmiths manage to connect with their readers. As a writer, I found a lot of what he was saying to be true and applicable.
"The Uncanny" was perhaps my favorite article from the book. Having a degree in robotics and a fascination with animatronics, the Uncanny Valley is something that I've come face-to-face with many times. And Freud successfully explains, in my opinion, why human animatronics that are slightly off are creepier than cartoon versions of the same figure. The feeling that the realistic human is so familiar that it should move in predictable ways is jarred by the realization that the smile doesn't move smoothly enough and the head jerks ever so slightly as it looks to the right. The uncanny comes from the familiar. And, uncannily, I was reading House of Leaves at the same time, which also delved into the uncanny from Heidegger's account, which Freud references in this article. House of Leaves was eerie enough.
"On War and Death" was interesting because the Paris attack happened the day before I started reading it. It dove into the reasons why people feel so compelled to fight each other and how death is either viewed as a tragedy or as a necessary evil depending the circumstances in which it occurred.
The rest of the articles were forgettable. They didn't leave enough of an impression for me to remember them now, a month after finishing the book. They were all hit or miss, but I would recommend finding the above three individually if they sound at all interesting to you.
March 12, 2025
An artist once told me the following: during the initial phase of a new creation, he forces away his logical side, allows the material to just pour out from within, and then shapes it into a recognizable form that he can relate to, understand, and improve for clarity. I found myself doing this after my parents died, in a situation I had to find creative solutions.
When I trusted myself to work this way, I saw something I had never experienced before. Certain experiences, from my childhood and teen-hood days, just welled up with no apparent connections; I had no clues why they reappeared then and why in these peculiar shapes. I saw their pertinence and importance only after a few days, when they started falling in their places and took a definite shape.
I had read Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams, but this rearranging and reshaping of connectionless elements took place during the day, when I was wide awake!
In general, I have a tendency to disbelieve and discredit the role of unconsciousness in solving problems. This particular experience after my parents’ death showed me the way our psyche stores our former experiences and uses them later when appropriate moments come.
In a way, it fits what this artist says: our true guidance comes from within.
When I trusted myself to work this way, I saw something I had never experienced before. Certain experiences, from my childhood and teen-hood days, just welled up with no apparent connections; I had no clues why they reappeared then and why in these peculiar shapes. I saw their pertinence and importance only after a few days, when they started falling in their places and took a definite shape.
I had read Freud’s Interpretation of Dreams, but this rearranging and reshaping of connectionless elements took place during the day, when I was wide awake!
In general, I have a tendency to disbelieve and discredit the role of unconsciousness in solving problems. This particular experience after my parents’ death showed me the way our psyche stores our former experiences and uses them later when appropriate moments come.
In a way, it fits what this artist says: our true guidance comes from within.
March 22, 2014
Freud's take on creativity and how in some ways this plays out without our awareness is quite enjoyable. A personal favorite essay is his reflection on death and war during World War I. It is enlightening, and dare I say a little existential in it's thinking. This is Freud at his best in my opinion. The pieces where he is hammering home the Oedipus complex, are not as entertaining, but that is likely because Freud was made into a caricature of himself in recent times, so these feel dry, formulaic and two dimensional. Overall though, readable and thought provoking.
May 2, 2016
Mixed feelings about the book: I like the writings on art; the analysis of a demonized painter shed some light on the feelings of smallness I go through and hate to admit. Never liked all the theories about castration or Oedipus.
January 23, 2012
amazing. wish i had read this years ago. by contemporary standards, a brilliant analysis of art, literature and character. he really is my hero.
June 24, 2012
Freud at his best. Finally.
February 21, 2015
Flat and boring conjecture. Some of Freud's popular ideas and subjects are discussed but they are not used well. I would not re-read or recommend any of of he essays in this book.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews