[Skip to Navigation]
Other
February 1926

THE OEDIPUS COMPLEX: AN ATTEMPT TO ESTIMATE ITS RÖLE AND IMPORTANCE

Author Affiliations

Professor of Psychology in Harvard University CAMBRIDGE, MASS.

Arch NeurPsych. 1926;15(2):151-172. doi:10.1001/archneurpsyc.1926.02200200002001
Abstract

I shall attempt to diminish in some degree the theoretical differences, familiar to all, by which students of human nature are so widely divided. Of all these divisions, the most regrettable seems to be that which has arisen between those who follow the banner of Professor Freud and those of us who cannot accept a large part of the teachings of that great pioneer. Among the several distinctive features of the freudian psychology, the theory of the Oedipus complex is, I think, chiefly responsible for the continuance of the chasm that divides us. I shall attempt, therefore, to show that although there is a certain amount of truth in the theory of the Oedipus complex, the range of influence of this complex has been grossly exaggerated in much of the freudian literature. The success of such an attempt would materially diminish the width of the chasm in question.

Differences of

Add or change institution
×