ABSTRACT
Part of freud's genius lay in his remarkable ability to select new and fruitful concepts with which he could organize and explain his observations. He could take a few facts, see the central issue, and offer a basic formulation on even the slimmest of evidence. This creative approach can be seen in The Interpretation of Dreams, where, after examining a handful of dreams, he was able not only to describe the dynamic forces which lead to dream formation, but also to construct from this a basic theoretical model of the mind and show the manner of its functioning. The same almost magical creativeness was shown many years later in his study of fetishism, where, like an artist, with a few deft strokes he was able to show the basic issues involved, leaving to his followers little to do but fill in details and admire his skill.
