The book "Totem and taboo. Some coincidences in the mental life of savages and neurotics" by the famous Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud is one of his main works. In this work, the author examines important aspects of the collective interpretation of dreams, ritual life, and mental structures of primitive societies, comparing them with phenomena in the mental life of modern civilization. Freud analyzes the concepts of totem and taboo, examines the early history of mankind and notes the psychic mechanisms behind certain collective phenomena. He emphasizes the importance of following the general rules of society and the mental reactions that occur when these norms are violated. The book is an important contribution to the development of psychoanalytic theory and the study of primitive structures in the context of psychology.