Existing theories of psychosomatic disorder fail to deal explicitly with the problem of choice of psychosomatic rather than purely psychological disorder. The author hypothecates that 'a purely psychological disorder is one in which the imagination conducts basic conflicts in terms of projective images; a psychosomatic disorder is one in which the imagination conducts basic conflicts in terms of tactile or kinesthetic sensations'. Certain fundamental relations between projective (auditory and visual) images and imagined kinesthetic or tactile sensations are assumed and are discussed with reference to the contributions of Sartre, Levy-Bruhl, and many psychoanalytic writers. A number of suggestions for testing the hypothesis are offered.