At the turn of the 20th century, Sigmund Freud presented what became his comprehensive and unprecedented theory of childhood. In what is now known as psychosexual development, Freud relies on ancient theoretical structures going back to Aristotle and Plato. Yet, despite its clear advantages, Freud’s theory is philosophically—and fundamentally—wrong.

In his collection of essays, author Doron Porat follows the fallacy of the meta-Freudian theory, from its philosophical roots to the core of psychoanalysis, to expose Freud’s cardinal sin—regarding man as a finite, even temporal individual.

To salvage Freud’s theory from its overreliance on ephemeral processes in the human psyche, Porat offers a framework based on Freud’s inspiration and antithesis, reestablishing the very concept of childhood as a timeless phenomenon. Building upon ancient and modern philosophies, Porat’s essays are more than an attempt to correct decades, if not centuries-old false views of the human mind. They are a bold and original discussion about the very nature of what it means to be human.