Chapter X. Biology

Freud was once invited, in 1913, to state, within the compass of a larger essay, what interest he thought psycho-analysis might have for biologists,1 and it is worth while considering his answer to the request. The main theme on which he concentrated was the contributions psycho-analysis had made to the study of sexual development in man, a theme of evident biological import. He compared the autonomous life sexuality appears to lead in man, with its relative independence from the personality, with the independence of the immortal germ plasm from the somatic body. He further commented on the way in which human sexuality transcends the simple aim of propagating the species, and how it extends far beyond the genital organs themselves. Then he remarked on the difficulty of correlating the biological distinction between male and female with any comparable distinction in psychology. There seemed to be here no distinction in the nature of the instinct in the two sexes. All that could be found was a distinction between active and passive aims, and this applies to both sexes; he also mentioned the importance of bisexuality in mankind. He agreed that the contrast he had drawn between the ego and the sexual impulses corresponded roughly with the biological distinction between the instincts of self-preservation and those of preservation of the species.

Freud then pointed out that much of his work was based on his conception of a drive (Trieb), which he maintained was transitional between psychology and biology. He further insisted on the genetic nature of his work, which was in line with the developmental studies in biology. Stress was laid on the important phenomenon of Regression, one which has many parallels in the bodily sphere. Finally there was a hint that the biological law ‘Ontogeny is a repetition of Phylogeny’ might well prove to be true of mental processes also.

The historian is justified in making more extensive claims for