ABSTRACT
Sigmund Freud analysed the anthropological customs of savages and was able to see symmetry between the social psychology of taboos and the individual suffering from a psychoneurosis, particularly an obsessive–compulsive neurosis. Totem and Taboo was one of Freud most scholarly and profound works. The practice of taboo originated from external sources in primitive societies so as to regulate their living arrangements. While the principal taboo had always been erected against incest, taboos also emerged against contact with tribal leaders, slain enemies, and dead relatives. Taboos exist in muted form today in superstition, religious practice, and everyday life. They also exist in organizational structures, such as psychoanalytic institutions. Psychoanalysts have taboos about experimentation, about challenging institute authority, and about using putative “heretical” ideas. Psychoanalysis is an institution that deals with sacred aspects of individuals. Psychoanalysis as an improvizational passion play, one in which a hidden theme will emerge if the actors remain loyal to their respective roles.
