The Future of an Illusion

Jul 6, 2026

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The text presents Sigmund Freud’s “The Future of an Illusion” in an English edition newly translated from German and edited by James Strachey, accompanied by an editor’s note and publication history. It identifies the work’s bibliographic context, including German editions and the 1928 English translation base. The editor explains how Freud’s interests shifted back from natural sciences, medicine, and psychotherapy toward cultural problems, and situates the book as a precursor to “Civilization and its Discontents.”

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages69

Reading Time1 h 46 min

Editor's Note

The Future of an Illusion

By SIGMUND FREUD AN AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL STUDY BEYOND THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE CIVILIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTSTHE COMPLETE INTRODUCTORY LECTURES ON PSYCHOANALYSIS THE EGO AND THE ID THE FUTURE OF AN ILLUSION GROUP PSYCHOLOGY AND THE ANALYSIS OF THE EGO · INTRODUCTORY LECTURES ON PSYCHOANALYSIS JOKES AND THEIR RELATION TO THE UNCONSCIOUS LEONARDO DA VINCI AND A MEMORY OF HIS CHILDHOOD NEW INTRODUCTORY LECTURES ON PSYCHOANALYSIS ON DREAMSON THE HISTORY OF THE PSYCHOANALYTIC MOVEMENT AN OUTLINE OF PSYCHOANALYSIS THE PROBLEM OF ANXIETY THE PSYCHOPATHOLOGY OF EVERYDAY LIFE THE QUESTION OF LAY ANALYSIS TOTEM AND TABOO The Future OF AN Illusion SIGMUND FREUD Newly Translated from the German and Edited by JAMES STRACHEY w . W . NORTON & COMPANY · INC · Copyright © 1961 by James Strachey Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Freud, Sigmund, 18(;5-1939 . The future of an illusion. Translation of Die Zukunft einer Illusion. Bibliography; p. Includes indexes. 1. Psychology, Religious. 2. Religion. 3. Psychoanalysis. I. Strachey, James. II. Title. BL53 .F67 1975 200'. 1'9 75 15645 ISBN 0 393-01120-8 Printed in the United States of America 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 CONTENTS Editor's Note 8 The Future of an Illusion 5 Bibliography and Author Index 57 General Index 61 THE FUTURE OF AN ILLUSION EDITOR'S NOTE DIE ZUKUNFT EINER ILLUSION (a) GERMAN EDITIONS: 1927 Leipzig, Vienna and Zurich: Internationaler Psychoanalytischer Verlag. Pp. 91. 1928 2nd ed. Same publishers. (Unchanged.) Pp. 91. 1928 G.S., 11,411-66. 1948 G.W., 14, 325-380. (b) ENGLISH TRANSLATION: The Future of an Illusion 1928 London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho Analysis. Pp. 98. (Tr. W. D. Robson-Scott.) The present translation is based on that published in 1928. This work was begun in the spring of 1927, it was finished by September and published in November of the same year. In the 'Postscript' which Freud added in 1935 to his Autobiographical Study he remarked on 'a significant change' that had come about in his writings during the previous decade. 'My interest', he explained, 'after making a long detour through the natural sciences, medicine and psychotherapy, returned to the cultural problems which had fascinated me long before, when I was a youth scarcely old enough for thinking' (Standard Ed., 20, 72) . He had, of course, touched several times on those problems in the intervening years-especially in Totem and Taboo (1912-13);1 but it was with The Futur.e ofan Illusion that he entered on the series of studies which were to be his major concern for the remainder of his life. Of these the most important were Civilization and its Discontents (1930a), which is the direct successor to the present work, the discussion of philosophies of life which forms the last of the New Introductory Lectures (1933a), WIv War? (1933b), Freud's open letter to Einstein, and 1 His earliest published approach to the problem of religion was in the paper on 'Obsessive Actions and Religious Practices' (19076) . 4 THE FUTURE OF AN ILLUSION finally Moses and Monotheism (1939a), which he worked at from 1934 onwards. In view of Freud's sweeping pronouncement on p. 6 ('1 scorn to distinguish between culture and civilization') and of a similar remark towards the end of 'Why War?', it seems unnecessary to embark on the tiresome problem of the proper translation of the German word 'Kultur'. We have usually, but not invariably, chosen 'civilization' for the noun and 'cultural'for the adjective.

FAQs

Who edited the English translation of “The Future of an Illusion,” and what was the translation basis?

James Strachey edited the newly translated edition. The present translation is based on the 1928 English translation.

When was Freud’s “The Future of an Illusion” written and published?

The work began in spring 1927, was finished by September, and was published in November 1927.

What cultural work does the editor describe as the direct successor to “The Future of an Illusion”?

“Civilization and its Discontents” (1930a) is described as the direct successor.

Jul 6, 2026

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