In the present work I sketch in broad outline those facts and observations which inspired me with the idea of making enquiry into the causes of sexual perversion, and this not merely under the influence of depravity and licentious excess; preferably, in fact I may say chiefly, I examine these causes as connected with a morbid condition of the organism, whether congenital or acquired. Above all I make it my business to throw all the light possible on the part played by heredity and by the phenomena of arrested development, as well as by the various morbid causes conditioning the etiology of sexual perversions, and to differentiate these with the very utmost clearness from proved depravity of character conscious and premeditated vice. My Treatise on Sexual Perversion appeared in the first instance in Russian in 1885. A large number of Works have followed suit since in different countries, and I have enjoyed the very great satisfaction of noting that my conclusions have been in the main confirmed by all my learned fellow-workers in other parts of Europe. Carrying my investigations further into this subject, one equally delicate and impor- tant, I have since brought together a very considerable number of fresh observations, all of which support the views originally expressed in the present work. But, as previously to last year the whole of my time was consecrated to teaching my Classes at the Academy of Medicine, leisure has hitherto failed me to draw up a fair and proper statement of my observations. From another point of view, it may be that, con- sidering their special subject, they are still too recent to be published at once. Meantime I am bound to state that this fresh evidence has not in any way modified my convictions on the question of sexual aberrations. I may add that the further experience of these last few years makes me insist with even greater confidence than before on the practical conclusions with regard to examination by medico-legal experts which I had previously drawn, and which are laid down in this book.

This book examines Freud's changing views of human instincts, exploring the moral and social implications. Part One investigates Freud's concept of instinct and discusses the phases of his ongoing attempt to classify the instincts. In Part Two the author argues that Freud's instinct theory leads to a moral philosophy, and he relates this philosophy to Freud's views on group psychology. The notion of instinct is central to psychoanalytic theory, but never before has it been treated so comprehensively, with such close attention to the text. Nor has anyone previously examined in detail the moral and social implications of Freud's instinct theory. In examining these implications, Abel bridges the fields of psychology and philosophy.