When Otto Fenichel died suddenly at age 48, Anna Freud mourned the loss of "his inexhaustible knowledge of psychoanalysis and his inimitable way of organizing and presenting his facts." These qualities shine in his classic text, which has been a beacon to generations of psychoanalysts. Investigating the relationship between biological needs and external influences the tensions and inhibitions that nurture neuroses Fenichel concludes that "neuroses are social diseases," arising from the demands of civilization on the developing organism. For this 50th anniversary edition, distinguished psychoanalyst Leo Rangell has written an introduction to set the context of Fenichel's work and an epilogue to describe its influence."

The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis, Fenichel's classic text, summarized the first half century of psychoanalytic investigation into psychopathology and presented a general psychoanalytic theory of neurosis. When Otto Fenichel died, Anna Freud mourned the loss of 'his inexhaustible knowledge of psychoanalysis and his inimitable way of organizing and presenting his facts'. These qualities shine through The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis which has been a standard reference for generations of psychoanalysts. For this anniversary edition, Leo Rangell has written an introduction that sets Fenichel's work in context. He sees Fenichel as a worthy heir to Freud; both men influenced their followers by what Rangell calls 'the charisma of ideas'. In his epilogue, Rangell describes the fate of Fenichel's ideas and of this book as 'a barometer of the place of psychoanalysis ... within the external intellectual world and, even more significantly, of the trends and shifting winds of opinion within the psychoanalytic field itself'. He traces those trends through the turbulent controversies of the field, concluding that Fenichel's observations are as fresh and relevant today as they were fifty years ago.

The theory of psychoanalysis was the breakthrough that defined the intellectual ambience of the 20th century. Two-thirds of the way into the century, the new science peaked and started a steep decline. While many look to external factors, or more recently to internal organizational ones, Dr. Leo Rangell has steadfastly pointed to theoretical fragmentation as the source of the loss of inspiration the discipline previously enjoyed. The Controversial Discussions need to be superseded by Discussions of Controversies. The British attempt at mid-century, with its outcome far from logical or inspiring, had best be followed by reparative discussions throughout the analytic world, with human impediments met and dissolved, for as long as it takes. The ideational issues that divide are few and finite in comparison to the breadth of the consensual base. Dr. Rangell traces the mixture of ideas and people intrinsic to the history of splits, and describes a total, cumulative, composite theory aiming toward internal coherence in the service of survival and the future of the science.

This book turns out to have a scientific relevance and value that will similarly interest many, not only those in the specialized field of neuroscience but very individual who has a brain and a mind and wonders about them.

The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis, Fenichel's classic text, summarized the first half century of psychoanalytic investigation into psychopathology and presented a general psychoanalytic theory of neurosis. When Otto Fenichel died, Anna Freud mourned the loss of 'his inexhaustible knowledge of psychoanalysis and his inimitable way of organizing and presenting his facts'. These qualities shine through The Psychoanalytic Theory of Neurosis which has been a standard reference for generations of psychoanalysts. For this anniversary edition, Leo Rangell has written an introduction that sets Fenichel's work in context. He sees Fenichel as a worthy heir to Freud; both men influenced their followers by what Rangell calls 'the charisma of ideas'. In his epilogue, Rangell describes the fate of Fenichel's ideas and of this book as 'a barometer of the place of psychoanalysis ... within the external intellectual world and, even more significantly, of the trends and shifting winds of opinion within the psychoanalytic field itself'. He traces those trends through the turbulent controversies of the field, concluding that Fenichel's observations are as fresh and relevant today as they were fifty years ago.