Page:Psychology of the Unconscious (1916).djvu/53

 II.—THE CONCEPTION AND THE GENETIC THEORY OF LIBIDO                             139

A widening of the conception of libido—New light from the study of paranoia—The impossibility of restricting the conception of libido to the sexual—A genetic definition—The function of reality only partly sexual—Yet this, and other functions, originally derivations from procreative impulse—The process of transformation—Libido, and the conception of will in general—Examples in mythology—The stages of the libido: its desexualized derivatives and differentiations—Sublimation vs. repression—Splittings off of the primal libido—Application of genetic theory of libido to introversion psychoses—Replacing reality by archaic surrogates—Desexualizing libido by means of phantastic analogy formations—Possibly human consciousness brought to present state in this manner—The importance of the little phrase: "Even as."

III.—THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE LIBIDO. A POSSIBLE SOURCE OF PRIMITIVE HUMAN DISCOVERIES                          157

An example of transition of the libido—Act of boring with forefinger: an infantile presexual activity—Similar activities in patient's early childhood—Outcome in dementia præcox—Its phantasies related to mythological products: a reproduction of the creations of antiquity—The freeing of libido from the nutritive to enter the sexual function—The epoch of suckling and the epoch of displaced rhythmic activity—These followed by the beginnings of onanistic attempts—An obstacle in the sexual zone produces regression to a previous mode—These regressions easier in earlier stages of humanity than now—The ethnological phantasy of boring—Examples—The production of fire—Its sexual significance—A substitute for coitus—The invention of fire-making then due to the need of supplying a symbol for the sexual act—The psychological compulsion for such transitions of the libido based on an original division of the will—Regression to incestuous—Prohibition here sends incestuous component of libido back to pre-sexual—Character of its application here—The substitution of Mother-Earth for the parent—Also of infantile boring—Leading then to discovery of fire—An example in Hindoo literature—The sexual significance of the mouth—Its other function: the mating call—The regression which produced fire through boring also elaborated the mating call—The beginnings of speech—Example from the Hindoo—Speech and fire the firstfruits of transformation of libido—The fire-preparation regarded as forbidden, as robbery—The forbidden thing onanism—Onanism a cheating of sexuality of its purpose—The ceremonial fire-production a substitute for the possibility of onanistic regression—Thus a transformation of libido ensues.