Freud's Empirical Studies: The Individual and Society

Close study of empirical works by Freud. The course continues HUM/PSY 365 (Freud on the Psychological Foundations of the Mind), which scrutinizes Freud's general theory of the mind, and forms the backdrop to this course's inquiry into specific portions of mental life Freud investigated. Topics include aesthetic sensibility, dreaming, humor, mental glitches, superstition, indecision, group psychology, and religion. The aim is to examine the psychology emerging from those investigations and the method by which Freud extrapolates it. More recent research and commentary is consulted for additional perspective.