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In this paper Delgado considers the significance for character-formation of the development of the libido and its various stages. His presentation confines itself in general to psycho-analytic views, but suffers from the circumstance that the author interweaves with these views ideas taken from Adler and Jung, as if complete accord existed between the latter authors and psycho-analysis. One must of course keep in mind how difficult it is to follow from a country as far distant as Peru the psycho-analytic movement in all its developments and to form correct judgements on them. North American literature, which naturally meets with much consideration in South American countries, contains much material conducing to these ambiguities.
Delgado makes an interesting attempt to derive the ideas of omnipotence in children from the intra-uterine state. He assumes that the state of being without wishes, the freedom from all effort in the sense of adaptation, in this condition is the model for all later phantasies of omnipotence. The author introduces the name 'auto-hedonism' for this condition. After birth the infant organism is compelled to its first attempts at adaptation; this performance is accomplished by its organs (breathing, nutrition, sensory functions, etc.). Pleasure is bound up, however, with each such function; we can therefore speak of a second stage of 'organ-hedonism'. There follows the third stage of 'social hedonism' which is introduced by the desire for the love of others. Delgado's presentation is here lacking in sufficient differentiation. In the above he describes only narcissism, and this only in a one-sided fashion, nor does he do justice to the phenomena of transference. Nevertheless, the article seems worthy of notice, particularly in reference to the excellent characterisation of the early phases of development.