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After introductory remarks concerning the analogy between psychoanalytic and mathematical procedure in scientific speculation and preliminary methodological warnings, the author tries to determine how far modern biology substantiates Freud's Life-Death Instinct Theory.
The 'steady state' theory is currently applied in modern biology. This does not refer to states of equilibrium such as are found in machines. Steady states in living beings are characterized by constant expenditure of energy in one direction even in the resting state. The author arrives at a dynamic formulation S® (O) ®Z which describes the constant flux from source (S) to organism (O) to sink (Z). The organism (O) is enclosed in a membrane and tends to maintain a steady state. Disorganization of the system means death to the organism. The formula S® (O) ®Z is repeated myriads of times within the organism, and the organism in its growth incorporates part of S and Z into itself. Originally S and Z were the sea; now the blood bears a resemblance to the sea in chemical composition. Failure to maintain a steady state in the internal environment results in death. But it is in the nature of living organisms to maintain their steady state, and this may be termed a manifestation of the life instinct.
Organisms tend to increase in complexity but if the more complex organisms break down, the smaller, component ones, tend to go on. After a certain