[130]
It may now be said to be recognized by all authorities, even by Freud who
emphasizes a special psychological mechanism by which homosexuality may
become established, that a congenital predisposition as well as an
acquired tendency is necessary to constitute true inversion, apparent
exceptions being too few to carry much weight. Krafft-Ebing, Naecke, Iwan
Bloch, who at one time believed in the possibility of acquired inversion,
all finally abandoned that view, and even Schrenck-Notzing, a vigorous
champion of the doctrine of acquired inversion twenty years ago, admits
the necessity of a favoring predisposition, an admission which renders the
distinction between innate and acquired an unimportant, if not a merely
verbal, distinction.[131] Supposing, indeed, that we are prepared to admit
that true inversion may be purely acquired the decision in any particular
case must be extremely difficult, and I have found very few cases which,
even with imperfect knowledge, could fairly so be termed.
Even the cases (to which Schopenhauer long since referred) in which
inversion is only established late in life, are no longer regarded as
constituting a difficulty in accepting the doctrine of the congenital
nature of inversion; in such cases the inversion is merely retarded.
Pages:
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188