The Assault on Truth: Freud’s Suppression of the Seduction Theory
About this audiobook
In 1896, Sigmund Freud presented his revolutionary “seduction theory,” arguing that childhood sexual abuse directly caused adult mental illness. Just nine years later, he completely reversed this stance, insisting these traumatic memories were mere fantasies. Why did Freud retract his original theory? And why has the psychoanalytic community gone to such lengths to conceal this critical reversal?
In the landmark book The Assault on Truth, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson draws on unique access to formerly sealed and hidden papers to uncover the truth behind this pivotal moment in psychoanalytic history. Masson dares to explore the reality that neither Freud nor his followers could bear to face.
This investigation reveals the enduring impact of Freud’s decision on the theory and practice of psychoanalysis. Bracing in its honesty and gripping in its revelations, The Assault on Truth is the book that prompted Masson’s dramatic break with the psychoanalytic establishment and launched his brilliant career as an independent thinker and writer.
About the author
Jeffrey Masson has had at least four lives: first as a boy raised to become a “spiritual leader.” While in the middle of his disillusion, he became a professor of Sanskrit at the University of Toronto. Upon graduation, he became Projects Director of the Freud Archives when fate intervened: Masson’s findings on Freud turned Masson into a psychoanalytic pariah, and he gave up both his professorship and his analytic career to delve into the far more fascinating world of animal emotions. Two of his books, When Elephants Weep and Dogs Never Lie About Love, were New York Times bestsellers. He lives with his family in Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.
Jason Culp, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, has been acting since the age of ten, and his credits include a variety of television, theater, and film roles. He is best known for his role as Julian Jerome on General Hospital. In addition to audiobooks and voice-over work in national commercials, he has also narrated documentaries for National Geographic and the History Channel.
