Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis. He developed foundational theories about the unconscious mind, the structure of personality (id, ego, superego), defense mechanisms, and psychosexual development. Freud's clinical work and prolific writings — including The Interpretation of Dreams and Beyond the Pleasure Principle — profoundly influenced psychiatry, psychology, literary theory, and Western thought, despite controversy and debate around some of his methods and conclusions.