The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein found Freud's dream theory logically inconsistent. How can a wish be fulfilled in a dream if the dreamer isn't aware of having had that wish in the first place? And how can a symbol function as a symbol if the dreamer doesn't know what it is supposed to be symbolising? The simple answer to these questions is that

Uncovering a straightforward cause-and-effect relationship is a relatively rare occurrence in clinical practice. Given how the mind works, it is much more likely that the causes of a symptom will be convergent and complex. Many experiences (in childhood, adolescence and adulthood) will create memories (accessible, partially accessible or

The fact that Freud's structural model of the mind provides psychological fuel for narratives as different as The Iliad and Forbidden Planet strongly suggests that it captures essences, core dispositions, deep truths. And it continues to be relevant in an ever-changing, modern context.

Anxiety, depression, addiction and exhaustion are the new normal.

Freud set out to develop a medical specialism but succeeded in producing a complex system of thought, a new way of understanding the mind, relationships, history and culture.

The means by which the latent content of a dream is disguised Freud termed the 'dream work'. He identified several mechanisms. Condensation or 'compression' occurs when two or more images are combined without loss of meaning or implication. A figure might appear, for example, who is simultaneously the sleeper's mother and wife. Displacement occurs

We must reclaim as much of ourselves as we can. We must discover a personal morality shaped by experience rather than 'tribal' prohibitions. We must wrestle our minds free of prehistory so that we can make better, rational choices.

it is individuals at the top of social hierarchies who set cultural agendas. As such, the Viennese preoccupation with the allure of nerves was not a trivial phenomenon. It was a glimpse of the future. A prophecy concerning the shape of the modern mind.

Indeed, it is only after Freud that depictions of human absurdity have become commonplace.