Freud Theory Course 2021: Seminar 1

Seminar 1: Infantile Sexuality

The seminars explore Freud's seminal work, and discussions will be facilitated by Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist, Theodora Manolopoulou.

Freud, S (1905) II Infantile Sexuality in: ‘On Sexuality: Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality and Other Works.' The Pelican Freud Library. Vol. 7: pp 88 – 126. PenguinBooks. 1984

Freud’s chapter on Infantile Sexuality argues that sexuality is present from birth and develops in stages rather than emerging suddenly at puberty. He describes how infants experience pleasure through different bodily zones, how early attachments shape later sexual life, and how childhood sexual curiosity, fantasies, and conflicts contribute to personality formation. Freud also outlines the shift from these early polymorphously perverse” tendencies toward the more organised sexuality of adulthood, shaped by repression, socialisation, and the Oedipus complex.