ABSTRACT
Herbert Silberer draws to the developing field of psychoanalysis at the turn of the twentieth century. On October 5, 1910, Silberer applied for admission to Freud's pioneering 'Vienna Psychoanalytic Society', which included Freud, Adler, Wilhelm Stekel, Rank, and other significant theorists. Two things are apparent when one reviews Silberer's Psyche and Eros portfolio. First, he had clearly developed a reasoned, articulate theoretical stance, and communicated it coherently and crisply – more so than his more obscure earlier writings. Second, he was continuing to stray from the Freudian fold into the world of apostacy – so much so that Stekel maintained that Silberer resigned as co-editor in 1922 in a failed attempt to maintain a favorable connection with Freud and his followers. Silberer's early psychological interests were in what was known as 'hypnagogic phenomema': the period between waking and sleep in which mild hallucinatory activity can occur.
