Abstract

This study examines the nature of Freud's relationship to Friedrich Nietzsche. Nietzsche regarded himself, among other things, as a psychologist. His psychological explorations included an understanding of the meaning and function of dreams, unconscious motivation, unconscious envy, unconscious guilt, drives turned inward upon the self, sublimation of drives, unconscious resistance, and much more which anticipated some of Freud's fundamental psychoanalytic concepts. Although Freud wrote of Nietzsche having anticipated psychoanalytic concepts, he denied any influence of Nietzsche on his thought. Freud was aware of Nietzsche's writings from the time of his university years . While there is little information available pertaining to Freud's familiarity with Nietzsche from the mid 1880s through 1900, evidence is examined which suggests that Nietzsche may have had an impact on Freud during this period. After this period, Freud frequently had Nietzsche brought to his attention, and Nietzsche's impact can be discerned in Freud's writings