Introduction to Psychoanalysis

Chapter 39 Development of libido and sexual organization (1)
Gentlemen, in my impression, I have not yet convinced you of the importance of the abnormality of "sex" in the theory of sexual life.So I will now do my best to correct and supplement what I have already said.

Don't you think we're going to change the meaning of "sex" at the expense of provoking a backlash just for the sake of sexual perversion.In fact, the study of children's sexuality is more closely related to this, but the perversions of sex and the conformity of children's sexuality are especially worthy of our reference.The infant's sexual expression, though still apparent in the later years of childhood, does indeed fade away in that original manner, leaving it elusive.If you are not willing to pay attention to the facts of evolution and the results of your analysis, you may deny that children's expressions contain sexual undertones, and therefore consider them to have only other vague and indeterminate characteristics.You have to keep in mind whether a phenomenon contains sexual connotations. So far there is no universally recognized and consistent standard, unless the function of reproduction is regarded as one of the standards. That is to use reproduction as the definition of sex. We think it is too narrow and no longer use.The biological criteria proposed by Fries, such as the 23-day and 28-day periodicity, are also controversial; there may be some special chemical properties in the life of possibility, but these properties have not been discovered so far.And adult sexual perversions are quite definite.They have sexual connotations, there is no doubt about it; whether you call them "regression phenomena" or whatever, there is no denying that they are not normal sexual phenomena.Looking at this phenomenon independently, we can also find that the sex and reproductive functions we advocate are not the same thing, because the abnormality of sex is enough to hinder the purpose of reproduction.

There is a fact of equality here which deserves our attention especially.Most people think of "psychological" as "conscious," but we'll extend the term "psychological" to include the non-conscious parts of the mind.The same is true for the word "sexual"; most people assume that the word has the same meaning as "reproductive," or more precisely, "genital," and we treat what is not genital and has nothing to do with reproductive events can also be considered "sexual".These two phenomena are originally only similar in form, but they also have a deeper meaning.

However, if the existence of sexual perversions is such a strong evidence for this problem, why was it not brought forward to solve this problem earlier?We have nothing to say about this.I think that sexual perversion has long since become a taboo, formed a theory, and even disturbed the judgment of the scientific community on similar subjects. Everyone seems to remember that sexual perversion is disgusting and absurd. power, or an underlying murderous secret hatred of sexual perverts, as the confession of the duke on trial in the famous satire.

Conscience and duty are all forgotten above Eros.

Of course this has nothing to do with me.In fact, the perverted patient is like a wretch who must pay a terrible price for his hard-won gratification.

Although sexual perversions seem to have unnatural objects and goals, they are obviously sexual, because the behavior of satisfying their perverted sexual desires usually reaches the peak of desire and ejaculation at the end.Of course this means that as far as adults are concerned, children have neither the peak of passion nor the possibility of ejaculation; although they have a similar behavioral substitution, such substitution cannot be identified as "sexual".

Here I would like to make a few additions so that we can correctly understand the problem of sexual perversion.Although most people despise this phenomenon, which is quite different from normal sexual activities, it can be seen through simple observation that there will inevitably be abnormalities of one kind or another in the sexual life of healthy people.Kissing, for example, may have originally been called a "perverted" act.It was just the contact of the erogenous zones on the lips of both parties, not the joining of the genitals.But no one has ever condemned kissing as a perversion; in the theater, kissing is regarded as a glorified sexual gesture.However, it is true that kissing tends to become an absolutely perverted act, for example, if the intensity of the stimulation is so high that it is accompanied by peaks of passion and ejaculation, which of course is not uncommon.For another example, if someone wants to enjoy sexual pleasure, he must look at and touch the object of his sexual desire, and another person will inevitably pinch and bite his mouth when he is extremely excited; in addition, there are some peaks of lust that are not caused by the other party. caused by the genitals, but other parts of the body.And so on, without enumeration.Of course, we can’t exclude people who have only this kind of habit from normal people, but classify them into the ranks of sexual perverts; in fact, the essence of sexual perversion does not lie in the transfer of sexual goals, nor does it lie in the replacement of genitals, or even Nor does it consist in a change of sexual object, but in the complete rejection of genital copulation for the satisfaction of perverted phenomena.An act of perversion is no longer perverted if it occurs merely to enhance or prepare for the completion of normal sexual intercourse.Judging from such facts, the gap between normal and abnormal sex is greatly reduced; Get rid of the useless elements, then assemble the other elements and subordinate them to a new purpose - reproduction.

Now we can study or explain the sexual life of infants more deeply and clearly from this abnormal point of view about sex.But before going into research or explanation, there is an important distinction between the two.It roughly means that abnormal sex life is often extremely concentrated, and its entire activities point to one goal, which is the only one in most cases; the impulse status of a particular part is the most important; perhaps only this impulse, or because of its own purpose And dominate other impulses.From this point of view alone, abnormal sex life and normal sex life are actually consistent with each other, but their dominant sexual impulse and sexual purpose are different from each other.Both have built a sound organizational system.However, the dominant forces are different from each other.Most of the infant's sex life lacks this concentration and organization, and the other parts of the impulse are equally effective and pursue their own pleasures alone.Both normal and perverted sex life, seen by the absence and presence of this concentration, has its origin in the sex life of the infant.In addition, many sexual perversions are more similar to the sexual life of infants, in that there are many "partial instincts" and goals in them, which later develop independently or are permanently preserved.However, for this kind of phenomenon, it is more accurate to call it "perverted sex life" rather than "childish disease of sex life".

With this preparation in place, we can now discuss some of the problems that we must encounter sooner or later.For example: "Since admitting that the manifestations of childhood from which adults' sexual lives originate are ambiguous, why must they be claimed to be sexual? And why are you not content with describing their physical aspects only, and saying that infants have already Showing that they seek pleasure in their own organs, by the presence of pleasure in sucking and valuing of feces, etc.?" I will only say to this question: "There is of course no objection to the statement 'seeking pleasure in organs', We originally understood that the supreme pleasure of sexual intercourse is only a kind of physical pleasure, so when did we acquire the sexual meaning that we should have in the later stage of growth? Is there more knowledge about "sensual pleasure" than "knowledge about sex" '? You think that sexual connotations are only possible when the genitals are active; what is sexual is genital. Sexual perversions may be obstacles, but you must think that 'perverted' sex does not require prosthetic contact with the genitals, perhaps It can also be satisfied, but after all, it is more about reaching the peak of sexual desire with the genitals. If you deny the relationship between reproduction and the essential characteristics of sex due to the abnormal phenomenon of sex, but only emphasize the reproductive organs, your position is certainly wrong. Great progress has been made. Our differences will no longer be very big, it is just a dispute between reproductive organs and other organs. There are many evidences of replacing reproductive organs with other organs to seek sexual satisfaction, such as normal kissing, How will you deal with the abnormal life of lewdness, or the symptoms of hysteria? Regarding hysteria, the stimulation phenomena, sensations, excitement, or erectile activities of the genitals that originally belonged to the genital organs are often transferred to other organs of the body, Such as head, face, etc. So, those essential elements that you think no longer exist; so, you have to make up your mind to follow my approach and expand the meaning of 'sex' to include early infants seeking 'sensual pleasure' all activities."

Now, I make two more points in support of this point.You should know that all the pleasure-seeking and not very specific activities of infancy we call "sexual" because in the analysis of psychotic symptoms our material is undoubtedly "sexual".Suppose for a moment that they are all "sexual" in themselves; but allow me to borrow a metaphor.There are two distinct dicotyledonous plants, such as the apple and the leguminous plant, whose seed germination we cannot directly observe; however, if we imagine that both can be traced from the fully developed plant, its growth Until the beginning, it was a dicotyledonous seed plant.The two dicots are hard to tell apart and look identical.However, do we conclude from this that they were originally identical and only differed in their later development?Or do we believe that although the difference cannot be seen in the dicots, it originally existed in the seed plants?Likewise, we call the pleasure-seeking activities of the infant "sexual".Whether the pleasure of every other organ can be called "sexual," or whether there are pleasures other than "sexual," which I cannot say here.Little is known about this area; therefore, it is not surprising that no final cause can now be definitively assigned, as a result of retrospective analysis.

Another point is that even if you can convince me that it is best not to think that the activities of babies are sexual, you have, in general, little evidence to support your eager assertion that "babies are asexual".From the age of three, the baby obviously has sexual life, and the genitals begin to show excitement; or there is periodic masturbation or self-satisfaction in the genitals.Neither the psychic nor the social aspect of sexual life can be ignored: choice of object such as fondness for a person, or preference for a certain sex, and jealousy are confirmed by impartial observation before psychoanalysis; this phenomenon is obvious to all.You may object that you do not deny that children express emotions very early, but that they are attached to the sexual aspects of their emotions.Children between the ages of three and eight clearly know to hide the sexual meaning in their emotions; but if you observe carefully enough, you can collect sufficient evidence to confirm the "sexual color" in this emotion, The points which you cannot attend to can be fully supplemented by psychoanalytic studies.The purpose of sex in this period is closely related to the aforementioned sexual spying.The purpose of sexual intercourse, which the child does not yet understand, is therefore perverted, and some are the natural result of the immature tissues of the child.

From the age of six or eight, a phenomenon of stagnation or regression occurs in the sexual development of children. Of course, this has indeed reached the standard of high civilization. We call this period the "latency period".The incubation period can sometimes be completely absent; and during the entire incubation period, sexual activity does not necessarily cease completely.All the psychological experiences and agitations before the incubation period are mostly forgotten; this is the inexperience in infancy we discussed earlier, and we cannot recall the experiences in childhood.Every aim of psychoanalysis is to recall to memory this forgotten period; we either assume that the sexual life which began at this period was the motive of this forgetting, or that this forgetting is the result of repression. .

From the age of three, the sexual life of children has a lot in common with the sexual life of adults; the differences are: [-]. the lack of stable organization due to the immaturity of the genitals; [-]. the existence of sexual abnormalities; [-]. The arousal powers of the libido are weak; these are well known.But the stages of sexual development preceding this period, or the stages known as "libidal development," are theoretically the most interesting.This development has grown so rapidly that it is impossible to fathom it without direct observation.Thanks to the aid of psychoanalysis in the study of psychosis, we can trace the development of the libido back to its earliest phenomena and thus define its nature.These phenomena are originally derived from theoretical inferences, but when psychoanalysis is carried out, you will know that these inferences have their own needs and values, and a better understanding of a certain pathological phenomenon often makes us clear that it is easier to ignore in the normal state. The phenomenon.

We can thus determine the manner in which the child's sexual life takes place before the sexual impulses of the genitals dominate; .Early on, there is a disorganized organization, or "presexual," when the dominant instinct is not the reproductive but the sadistic and anal instincts.The difference between the sexes does not yet play an important role, only the difference between active and passive, and this difference can be regarded as the precursor of the "polarity" of sex.From a genital standpoint, all male displays during this period tend to translate into dominance and sometimes sadism.With regard to impulses with passive purposes, most of them are related to the erogenous zone of the anus, which is very important in this period, and the impulses of peeping and curiosity also have a great advantage; while the genitals are limited to the function of urination.Some instincts in this period also had objects, but these objects were not limited to one thing.Organizations about sadistic, anal love are at a stage just before genital domination.Based on more careful research, we can know how much of this tissue is retained in the later physiologically mature structure, and by what means it is forced to occupy a considerable position in the new reproductive tissue.Behind the abuse and anal love in libido development, a more primitive period of development can be found, dominated by the oral erogenous zone.As you can imagine, the sexual act of sucking for the sake of sucking belongs to this stage.We can look at the art of the ancient Egyptians, where children were shown putting their fingers in their mouths, even the holy god Horus.Their understanding of human nature is really appreciated by future generations.The analyst Abraham, in his recently published book, speaks of the fact that this primitive oral sexual sensation is still preserved in later sexual life.

I can imagine you calling this last statement about the organization of sex more like nonsense than knowledge.Perhaps I have gone into too much detail, but I ask you to bear with me for the time being.What you have just heard will be very useful later on.Here you have to remember that sexual life, what we call the "libidal" function, does not take its final form as soon as it takes place, nor does it follow the expansion of its original form, but passes through a series of different functions. same stage.In short, it has undergone many changes, which are comparable to all the changes from caterpillars to butterflies.The key to this development is to make all sexual partial instincts subject to the dominance of the sex organs, and at the same time to make sexual life subordinate to the reproductive function.Before this development, sexual life seemed to be the independent activity of a number of single partial impulse instincts, each pursuing its own sensual pleasure.This anarchy is tempered somewhat by the attempt to reach the organization of the "presexual", chiefly the sadistic, anal-love period, preceded by the oral period, perhaps this is is original.There are other experiences, about which we know so little, which enable an organization to develop into a higher order.What significance these numerous periods of libido development have for the study of psychosis will be seen below.

(End of this chapter)