The essays compiled here span a period of about 20 years. They mark the stages of my development, the stages of the creation of a metapsychology inspired by Freud, which has undergone a deeper renewal. The new in psychoanalysis, as in all other fields, signifies a deepening of the foundation, a new justification. The central text, which has long been inaccessible in German, is the general theory of seduction. The other essays pave the way for it. In this revolutionary theoretical approach, Laplanche takes into account a fundamental, interpersonal situation. Freud's limited theory, which he quickly overshadowed, is elevated by Laplanche to the level of generalization. From this foundation, metapsychology and, in particular, can be developed.