Freud on the uncanny: A tale of two theories

Abstract

Freud's famous essay "The 'Uncanny'" is often poorly understood. In this paper, I clear up the popular misconception that Freud identifies all uncanny phenomena with the return of repressed infantile complexes by showing that he offers not one but two theories of the uncanny: "return of the repressed," and another explanation that has to do with the apparent confirmation of "surmounted primitive beliefs." Of the two, I argue that that the latter, more often overlooked theory is the one that faces fewer serious objections and carries greater explanatory power in respect to the uncanny.