The Early Infantile Sexuality of Man as Compared with the Sexual Maturity of Other Mammals

In his preface to the fourth and fifth editions of his Drei Abhandlungen zur Sexualtheorie (1920 and 1925) Freud looks back and finds himself able to state that, although psycho-analytical theory has over and over again been said to have broken down, increasing recognition and attention have again been accorded since the War to 'the purely psychological hypotheses and findings of psycho-analysis', even by those who are opposed to it in principle. 'That part of our theory', he continues, 'which touches on biology and of which the basis is laid down in this little book still evokes undiminished hostility'.

Since Freud wrote these words, progress in this respect also has been unmistakable. It has been specially marked in the field of child-therapy, a line of work for which Friedjung fought in the front rank for several decades. Nevertheless, in medical circles—almost more than amongst the laity—we still encounter a strong and widespread opposition (easy to understand analytically) to the recognition of the biological facts which Freud had pointed out. In especial there is a strong antagonism to his finding that children between the ages of, say, two and five are full of instinctual impulses, wishes and phantasies, the content of which is the same as that of the so-called perversions of adults and which we are accustomed to assign to sexual pathology. (The disposition of little children is 'polymorphous perverse'.)

It is, however, quite impossible to understand the theory of psycho-analysis and to apply it in practice unless we recognize and take into account just these particular biological facts. I propose, therefore, to adduce certain other, uncontested facts of biology in order to make these assertions of psycho-analysis easier for the doubters to accept and to remove the stumbling-block which they represent to many people. At least this may be of assistance to those who are to some extent prepared to embrace within their intellectual horizon even such scienti