Sigmund Freud did not invent the idea of the subconscious, however he did invent the idea that the subconscious is more of who we actually are than our conscious constructions. Freud dethroned rationality as the pinnacle of mind, overturning centuries of philosophical and religious dogma. Our current familiarity with Freud, and psychoanalysis, may prevent us from truly apprehending how profoundly Freud’s ideas have shaped our consciousness.

Freud’s breakout book, The Interpretation of Dreams, changed the culture of mid-twentieth century America. This book is Freud’s seminal work showing that the content of dreams can reveal more about who we are than any conscious self-observation. Although we take this knowledge now as given, we can benefit from reflecting on the deeper wisdom in Freud, which might be that “there’s someone in my head, but it’s not me,” to quote from Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon.

Although Freud’s positivism is outdated, his writings are fundamental to an understanding of contemporary criticism of art, culture, and literature. Freud’s writing will endure as literature and criticism, not as psychological science. When we reread his writing as literature, it can profoundly shift our perception of self and other. For example, Civilization and Its Discontents is more relevant as a treatise on cultural criticism than clinical psychology.