Sex and Sexuality: An Evolutionary View

Abstract

In this article, I first offer a summary of Darwin’s main ideas, especially relating to sex, and explain how these have been elaborated by more recent evolutionary scholars. I then give an account of the historical divergence between psychoanalysis and classical Darwinian thought, and describe how the early psychoanalyst Sabina Spielrein tried to counter this by addressing some biological themes in her work. Following a review of some contemporary attempts to bring psychoanalysis and evolutionary thought into alignment with each other, I make some suggestions regarding a view of sex and sexuality that would be sound in evolutionary terms while also being helpful in psychoanalytic ones.

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Corrigendum

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The views put forward in this article are entirely my own. However, I have benefitted greatly from exchanges with my colleagues in the evo-psychotherapy group at the Tavistock Clinic, London: Jim Hopkins, Sebastian Kraemer, Graham Music, Michael Reiss, Daniela Sieff, Annie Swanepoel, and Bernadette Wren. Many other people have been generous with comments on earlier drafts, including Gillian Bentley, Linda Brakel, Jim Chisholm, Aine Murphy, Randy Nesse, Joan Raphael-Leff and Martin Miller. Earlier versions of the second section of this article have been presented at the Scientific Meeting of the Tavistock Clinic, London, and to the Academic Faculty of the Anna Freud Clinic, London.

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Notes on contributors

John Launer

Dr. Launer is a family and couple psychotherapist and an honorary consultant at the Tavistock Clinic, London. He is associate dean for postgraduate medical education at London University.