The Essay

Thoughts for the Times on War and Death


Listen Later

How great artists and thinkers responded to the First World War in individual works of art, literature and scholarship

5.Michal Shapira on Sigmund Freud's Thoughts for the Times on War and Death, a text written in Vienna in 1915, expressing his dismay as the war progressed.

The declaration of war in 1914 was initially met with jubilation by the people of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and, in Vienna, Sigmund Freud shared the general mood

But, like his fellow-citizens, Freud expected a quick war. By February 1915, with two of his sons fighting and thousands of injured and traumatised soldiers returning from the front, Freud's feelings had changed.

Dr Michal Shapira reflects on his Thoughts for the Times on War and Death and considers how it prefigures some of his later, better-known works on war and the death-drive.

Dr Michal Shapira is a senior lecturer of history and gender studies at Tel Aviv University

Producer : Beaty Rubens.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

The EssayBy BBC Radio 3

  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2
  • 4.2

4.2

82 ratings


More shows like The Essay

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,913 Listeners

Ask Penguin by Penguin Books UK

Ask Penguin

143 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,067 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,576 Listeners

The Documentary Podcast by BBC World Service

The Documentary Podcast

1,808 Listeners

Arts & Ideas by BBC Radio 4

Arts & Ideas

303 Listeners

6 Minute English by BBC Radio

6 Minute English

1,729 Listeners

Learning English Conversations by BBC Radio

Learning English Conversations

1,018 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,952 Listeners

Great Lives by BBC Radio 4

Great Lives

488 Listeners

Backlisted by Backlisted

Backlisted

585 Listeners

The Conversation by BBC World Service

The Conversation

70 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

410 Listeners

Thinking Allowed by BBC Radio 4

Thinking Allowed

306 Listeners

Curious Cases by BBC Radio 4

Curious Cases

756 Listeners

The Audio Long Read by The Guardian

The Audio Long Read

841 Listeners

Front Row by BBC Radio 4

Front Row

129 Listeners

All in the Mind by BBC Radio 4

All in the Mind

62 Listeners

Bookclub by BBC Radio 4

Bookclub

241 Listeners

Word of Mouth by BBC Radio 4

Word of Mouth

55 Listeners

Private Passions by BBC Radio 3

Private Passions

52 Listeners

The TLS Podcast by The TLS

The TLS Podcast

181 Listeners

13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II by BBC World Service

13 Minutes Presents: Artemis II

4,186 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,245 Listeners