‘Freud: The Discovery of the Unconscious’: a journey exploring the intellectual adventure of the father of psychoanalysis
A new instalment in the ‘History Telling’ series, the in-depth podcasts that explore figures and events from contemporary history
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To mark the 170th anniversary of his birth, Il Sole 24 ORE – 24Ore Podcast present “Freud. The Discovery of the Unconscious”, a new seven-part series broadcast weekly as part of History Telling, the successful programme featuring monographic podcasts on figures and events that have changed the course of contemporary history, told in the accessible, narrative style of Paolo Colombo, full professor of the History of Political Institutions at the Faculty of Political Science of the Catholic University of Milan, offering fresh historical perspectives and new insights into figures who are impossible to forget.
Available from 20 July on the Sole 24 Ore website, on all audio platforms and at 24orepodcast.com, the podcast written by Paolo Colombo and Paolo Gomarasca, full professor of Moral Philosophy at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Milan, traces the life, thought and legacy of Sigmund Freud, the man who revolutionised the way the West views itself, taking listeners on a journey to discover the extraordinary intellectual adventure of the father of psychoanalysis against the backdrop of the political, cultural and social upheavals of the first half of the 20th century.
When, in 1883, the young Sigmund Freud began working as a doctor, he was just twenty-six years old and no one could have imagined that this young man, destined to navigate fin-de-siècle Vienna, the world wars, scientific revolutions and the great crises of his time, would end up radically transforming Western culture. By inventing psychoanalysis, Freud brought to light the existence of the unconscious, opened up a new path for therapeutic practice, redefined the individual’s relationship with memory, desire, sexuality and religious faith, and introduced concepts that are still part of everyday language today. Through a narrative rich in anecdotes, insights, pivotal encounters and major controversies, the podcast traces his personal and scientific journey, showing how his ideas have continued to influence generations of scholars and millions of people far beyond his own time.
From his family background and formative years to his early medical studies, from his pioneering work on hysteria to the discovery of the therapeutic value of speech, the narrative takes listeners through all the key stages of Freud’s journey. Key figures such as Jean-Martin Charcot, Josef Breuer, Carl Gustav Jung and Sándor Ferenczi emerge, as do famous cases such as those of Anna O. and Dora, which contributed to the definition of a new discipline. Central, of course, is the emergence of concepts destined to leave a profound mark on contemporary thought, from the interpretation of dreams to transference, from free association to the Oedipus complex, right through to reflections on the life and death drives.
