A forgotten review by Sándor Ferenczi: “Otto Gross: Three essays on internal conflict” (1920)

Abstract

ABSTRACT In early 1920, Otto Gross published his last book, Three Essays on Internal Conflict, almost at the same time as “Beyond the pleasure principle”, in which Freud revised his drive theory. Gross was one of the most brilliant analysts of the “first generation”, but he had spent more than 10 years outside the psychoanalytic movement, and no one showed any interest in his publications except Ferenczi, who immediately wrote a critical review that has never been translated into English. Here we present the first English translation of Ferenczi’s review, “Otto Gross. Three essays on internal conflict” (1920), first published in Internationale Zeitschrift für Psychoanalyse. In this review, Ferenczi shows a great deal of interest in the new approach proposed by Gross based on the recently discovered “hospitalism syndrome”, identifying the “instinct (or drive) for contact” as the origin of infantile sexuality. This review reveals a key moment in the trajectory of Ferenczi’s work, when he took a definitive turn towards investigating early relationships and towards a renewed focus on the trauma factor. This illuminates the rest of his psychoanalytic work and formed the foundations for the attachment and relational approach in psychoanalysis.