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In this opening paper of the symposium on 'The Concept of Aggression', held at the St. Andrews' Meeting of the British Psychological Society in April, 1938, Dr. Fairbairn maintains the psycho-analytical view that the instincts are internally determined as against the view, represented, amongst others, by McDougall, that they are primarily a response to an external situation. He also rejects Jung's concept of the fundamental unity of all instincts, according to which aggression is merely a manifestation of the libido on a lower level, in favour of a dualistic view of the instincts. He regards aggression as a primary trend and as an irreducible factor from a qualitative point of view. As regards the possibility of modifying it quantitatively, he thinks that there are two practicable methods of doing this. One is to canalize it into the various recognized social activities, such as art, religion, science and good works; and the other, which he considers a newer and more hopeful line, is to lessen the frustrations to which the individual is exposed in early life and which originally served to increase the degree of aggressive feelings in him.