Skip to main content

Primary sourceBook1905

Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality

Sigmund Freud · 1905

Freud's controversial 1905 work setting out his theory of infantile sexuality and psychosexual development.

One of Freud's most controversial works, outlining his core theory of psychosexual development.

Ask Sigmund Freud about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Title page of the 1905 book Drei Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie by Prof. Dr. Sigm. Freud in Wien, published by Franz Deuticke in Leipzig und Wien. Cream-colored page with black serif text and rules.
Sigmund Freud, Drei Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie, title page, 1905.

About this source

What it is

This is the title page of Drei Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie, a book written by Sigmund Freud and published in 1905. It presents his theories on sexual 'aberrations', childhood sexuality, and the changes of puberty.

Why it matters

Freud argued that sexuality begins in infancy, not adulthood, and that adult sexual identity develops gradually through stages. This was one of the most controversial parts of his theory, challenging ideas of childhood innocence common at the time. The book went through many editions over twenty years, with Freud adding and revising concepts as his thinking changed.

Look closer

  • Why might these ideas have been shocking to readers in 1905?
  • What does it tell us that Freud kept revising the book over two decades?
  • How might scientific ideas about childhood change over a person's lifetime?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Sigmund Freud on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Sigmund Freud sources

Meet the AI Sigmund Freud →
Title page of the German book Die Traumdeutung by Dr. Sigm. Freud, printed in Leipzig und Wien by Franz Deuticke, dated 1900. Includes a Latin epigraph in italics: Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.Book

Secondary source

The Interpretation of Dreams

Sigmund Freud · 1900

Title page of a book on yellowed paper. Centered small capital text reads 'SIGM. FREUD' above the bold German title 'Das Ich und das Es'. Faint marks and spots are visible on the page.Book

Primary source

The Ego and the Id

Sigmund Freud · 1923

Open book showing a title page on the right, with a boxed German title: 'Das Unbehagen in der Kultur, von Sigm. Freud, 1.-12. Tausend, 1930, Internationaler Psychoanalytischer Verlag, Wien'. The left page is blank.Book

Primary source

Civilization and Its Discontents

Sigmund Freud · 1930

Speech

Primary source

Sigmund Freud's Voice (BBC Broadcast Recording, 1938)

Sigmund Freud · 27 December 1938

Black-and-white studio portrait of an older bearded man in a three-piece suit with a watch chain, holding a cigar in his raised left hand and his right hand in his trouser pocket, against a dark backdrop.Photograph

Primary source

Portrait of Sigmund Freud

Max Halberstadt

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Sigmund Freud now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions