ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author presents here a short summary of the author's research on the early, so-called 'pre-analytical' period of Freud's thinking. After a careful analysis of his writings, he has developed a model for understanding the changes that led him to a revolution in the field of human sciences. The essentials of his revolution were elaborated in three major books: The Interpretation of Dreams, The Psychopathology of Everyday Life and Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious. Freud's theoretical development, in the years from 1883 until 1900, took place on two different levels that are only slightly connected. On the one hand, he developed a new treatment for the mentally ill. On the other, he attempted to develop a theoretical explanation of neuroses and psychoses and to elaborate a general scientific psychology to explain every psychological phenomenon.
