Die Erotik [The Erotic]

From whatever angle the problem of eroticism is approached, one retains the feeling of it having been extremely one-sided. The basis of eroticism—that is to say, sexuality—needs to be explored in ever greater depth, in its physiological aspect. Two facts are characteristic of the problem of the erotic: First of all, that eroticism should be considered as a special case within the sphere of physiological, psychical, and social relations, rather than independently and separately as is often the case. But secondly, that it once again links together these three kinds of relations, merging them into one, and making them its problem. Eroticism occupies an intermediate position between the two great categories of feeling: egoism and altruism. It is interesting that it is in the woman, usually prone to the most excessive idealizations of the amorous life, that this first hint of socialization emerges most strongly.