M. Benassy writes on The Theory of Instincts and M. Bouvet on The Ego in Obsessional Neurosis. Both papers, delivered at the Fifteenth Conference of French Speaking Analysts, are lengthy, with extensive review of the literature. No brief abstract can render justice to the papers and the discussion.

Benassy's paper is an attempt to integrate freudian metapsychology with newer evidence of comparative animal psychology (ethology). Bouvet's paper is a detailed analysis of the defenses and defensive systems evolved by the ego in obsessional patients, in particular the function of their ambivalence. The author draws certain conclusions about therapeutic techniques, especially the degree of frustration the analyst can impose upon the patient.