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The subject-matter of this paper does not fall within the competency of the psychoanalyst or the psychiatrist. It concerns a field marginal to their interest, namely, the relation of an individual to his culture, a problem which has given rise to considerable literature and speculation without so far providing a definitive or even a tentative solution.
The man-culture problem was accidentally brought into the focus of my attention by some observations made during the treatment of a twenty-year-old girl. The psychiatrist's field of observation is usually limited to the individual. When his interest branches out into work on subjects which are not accessible to his direct investigation such as history, culture, race, or art, he is forced to use the findings of other sciences. In so doing, he is in an embarrassing situation since he must choose among a variety of existing theories which are often quite contradictory. His quandary is then the same as that of the historian and anthropologist when they must apply psychology as an auxiliary science to their research. The problem of the relationship between psychology and the cultural sciences (Geisteswissenschaften) has frequently been discussed. Dilthey (3) tried to clarify the theoretical aspect of the problem. The psychoanalytic viewpoint has been presented by Hartmann (10, cf. 5). Simmel (20), and Weber (27) have succinctly stated which role must be assigned to psychology in sociology.