Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex

Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex

The Project Gutenberg EBook of Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex
by Sigmund Freud This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.net
Title: Three Contributions to the Theory of Sex
Author: Sigmund Freud
Release Date: February 8, 2005 [EBook #14969]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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NERVOUS AND MENTAL DISEASE MONOGRAPH SERIES NO. 7
THREE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE THEORY OF SEX
SECOND EDITION SECOND REPRINTING BY
PROF. SIGMUND FREUD, LL.D. VIENNA
AUTHORIZED TRANSLATION BY
A.A. BRILL, PH.B., M.D. CLINICAL ASSISTANT, DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHIATRY AND NEUROLOGY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY; ASSISTANT IN MENTAL DISEASES, BELLEVUE HOSPITAL; ASSISTANT VISITING PHYSICIAN, HOSPITAL FOR NERVOUS DISEASES
WITH INTRODUCTION BY
JAMES J. PUTNAM, M.D.
NERVOUS AND MENTAL DISEASE PUBLISHING CO. NEW YORK AND WASHINGTON 1920

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE INTRODUCTION TO TRANSLATION v AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION ix AUTHOR'S PREFACE TO THE THIRD EDITION x I. THE SEXUAL ABERRATIONS 1 II. THE INFANTILE SEXUALITY 36 III. THE TRANSFORMATION OF PUBERTY 68

INTRODUCTION TO TRANSLATION
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. When one passes beyond the strict domains of science and considers what is reported of the sexual life in folkways and art-lore and the history of primitive culture and in romance, the sources of information are immense. Freud has made considerable additions to this stock of knowledge, but he has done also something of far greater consequence than this. He has worked out, with incredible penetration, the part which this instinct plays in every phase of human life and in the development of human character, and has been able to establish on a firm footing the remarkable thesis that psychoneurotic illnesses never occur with a perfectly normal sexual life. Other sorts of emotions contribute to the result, but some aberration of the sexual life is always present, as the cause