"What is a totem? It is as a rule an animal (whether edible and harmless or dangerous and feared) and more rarely a plant or a natural phenomenon (such as rain or water), which stands in a peculiar relation to the whole clan. In the first place, the totem is the common ancestor of the clan; at the same time it is their guardian spirit and helper, which sends them oracles and, if dangerous to others, recognizes and spares its own children."

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Source: Sigmund Freud (2003). “Totem and Taboo”, p.3, Routledge

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Sigmund Freud

Neurologist, Psychoanalyst

Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, known for his theories on the unconscious mind and human sexuality.

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