ABSTRACT
The term “ego psychology” is often used in different ways. Hartmann’s modification changes what has hitherto been a cornerstone of Freudian theory, namely that all pleasure strivings are ontogenetically related and are part of a unitary libido. In general there are two major aspects to human ego development—that which proceeds from intrinsic biologic growth or maturation, and that which proceeds from learning. In fact the biological aspects of man gradually become so interpenetrated with social influences that as time goes on the biological as such is no longer isolable in human behavior and thought. The implications of ego psychology for psychoanalytic practice have been tremendous. Ego psychology is neither superficial nor deviant in modern psychoanalytic therapy.
