Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex

Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex Review

This book was published in German in 1905, and contains statements of his famous (or infamous, depending on one's view) theories such as "penis envy," "castration complex," and the "Oedipus complex."

Here are some representative quotations from the book:

"The fact of sexual need in man and animal is expressed in biology by the assumption of a 'sexual instinct.' ... The sexual expression corresponding to hunger not being found colloquially, science uses the expression, 'libido.'"
"The sexual instinct is probably entirely independent of its object and is not originated by the stimuli proceeding from the object."
"Now we are forced to the conclusion that there is indeed something congenital at the basis of perversions, but it is someting which is congenital in all persons; which as a predisposition may fluctuate in intensity, and that it is brought into prominence by influences of life."
"The historians of civilization seem to be unanimous in the opinion that such deflection of sexual powers from sexual aims to new aims, a process which merits the name of sublimation, has furnished powerful components for all cultural accomplishments."
"One of the first of such pregenital sexual organizations is the oral, or if one will, the cannibalistic. Here the sexual activity is not yet separated from the taking of nourishment and the contrasts within it are not yet differentiated... A second pregenital stage is the sadistic-anal organization."
"The infantile manifestations of sexuality not only condition the deviations from the normal sexual life, but also the normal formations of the same."
"(I)t is my belief that without taking into account the factor of bisexuality, it will hardly be possible to understand the sexual manifestations of man and woman, which must actually be observed."
"One may perhaps hesitate to identify the tender feelings and esteem of the child for his foster-parents with sexual love; I believe, however, that a more thorough psychological investigation will establish this identity beyond all doubt."

Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex Overview

The somewhat famous "Three Essays," which Dr. Brill is here bringing to the attention of an English-reading public, occupy--brief as they are--an important position among the achievements of their author, a great investigator and pioneer in an important line. It is not claimed that the facts here gathered are altogether new. The subject of the sexual instinct and its aberrations has long been before the scientific world and the names of many effective toilers in this vast field are known to every student.

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