Wilhelm reich selected writings an introduction to orgonomy

SELECTED WRITINGS.
AN INTRODUCTION TO ORGONOMY

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Selected Writings


ALSO BY WILHELM

REICH

The Cancer Biopathy
Character Analysis
Ether, God and Devil and Cosmic Superimposition
The Function of the Orgasm
The Invasion of Compulsory Sex-Morality
Listen, Little Man!
The Mass Psychology of Fascism
The Murder of Christ
Reich Speaks of Freud
The Sexual Revolution

WILHELM REICH

Selected Writings
A1z Introduction
to Orgononzy

FARRAR, STRAUS

AND GIROUX

NEW YORK


Copyright © 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1960, 1972, 1973 by J..1ary Boyd
Higgins as Trustee of The \Vilhelm, Reich Infant Trust Fund
All rights reserved
Library of Congress catalog card number 72-97612
Priuted in the United States of America
First printing, 1973
Published simultaneously in Canada by Doubleday Canada Ltd., Toronto
Designed by Ircing Perkins
This t;olume contains son1e material that appeared in the first edition of Selected Writings, copyright © 1960 by f..1ary Boyd Higgins as Trustee of the \Villzeln1 Reich Infant Trust Fund, and also
includes new translations as follou.:s: "The \Vorkshop of Orgonomic Functionalisnl,H £(Animism, Afysticism, and fl;fechanistics,"
and C(The Living Orgonon1e,'' translated by Therese Pol; ''The Det;elopment of the Orgasm Theory,'' ((On the Technique of Character Analysis,H "The Breakthrough into the Biological Realm,"
and £(The Expressive Language of the Living/' translated by
Vincent R. Carfagno; uExperitnental Investigation of Biological
Energy" and "The Carcinon1atous Shrinking Biopathy," translated by Andrew \Vhite u.;ith Alary Higgins and Chester M.
Raphael, fl;f.D.

Love, tcork, and knotcledge are the tcell-springs of our
life. They should also govern it.
"\V I L H E L 1\I R E I C H



FOREWORD

This anthology of selected \Vritings from the \Vorks of \Vilhelm
Reich \vas conceived as an introduction to orgonomy, and it is
presented \Vithout editorial conu11ent or interpretation in the siinple
belief that those \vho seek knovvledge must go to its source.
It has been difficult to 1nake this selection. The vastness of
Wilhehn Reich's scientific accon1plishn1ents has al,vays created a
problen1 of ''too 1nuchness." In this instance, the problen1 \Vas principally one of \vhat to on1it-ho'v to satisfy the restrictions imposed
by the li1nited space. It \Vas hauntingly felt that to exclude any one
piece of the material already published n1ight deprive the reader of
a rare opportunity to observe the historical developtnent of the
science of orgonomy, and to follo'v this develop1nent as evidence of
the consistent application of the functional 1nethod of thinking.
Thus, the assurnption of responsibility for making an adequate
selection \vas not lightly undertaken. I \Vould like to thank Chester
M. Raphael, M.D., for the valuable help \Vhich he gave generously
in the preparation of this volume.
An1ong the great \Vealth of excluded material is Wilhehn
Reich's Last \VUl and Testan1ent, signed three days before his imprisonnlent on ~1arch 11, 19.57. The contents of this docutnent are
generally unknown, and this fact has helped to create confusion
an1ong those \vho \Vish to learn of his \Vork, and anxiety in others

who are concerned about its protection. Therefore, in order to
clarify and to reassure, I vvish to make public the basic tenets of this
\viii.

\Vith the exception of a fe\v specific bequests, Wilhehn Reich
left his entire estate to be held and adn1inistered under the name of
the vVilhehn Reich Infant Trust Fund for the follo,ving uses and
purposes.
vii


viii

FOREWORD

1. To safeguard the truth about my life and \vork against
distortion and slander after my death . . . .
In order to enable the future student of the PRI~fORDIAL
COS~fiC ENERGY OCEAN, THE LIFE EKERGY discovered and developed by me, to obtain a true picture of my accomplishments,
mistakes, \vrong assumptions, pioneering basic trends, my
private life, rny childhood, etc., I hereby direct that under no
circumstances and under no pretext whatsoever shall any of
the documents, manuscripts or diaries found in my library
among the archives or anY'vhere else be altered, omitted, destroyed, added to or falsified in any other imaginable way. The
tendency of man, born fro1n fear, to "get along \vith his fellow
man" at any price and to hide unpleasant matters is overpoweringly strong. To guard against this trend, disastrous to historical
truth, my study including the library and archives shall be
sealed right after my death by the proper legal authorities and
no one shall be permitted to look into my papers until my
Trustee, hereinafter named, is duly appointed and qualified and

takes control and custody thereof.
These docun1ents are of crucial importance to the future of
ne\vborn generations. There are many emotionally sick people
who will try to damage my reputation regardless of \vhat happens to infants, if only their personal lives \vould remain hidden
in the darkness of a forsaken age of the Stalins and Hitlers.
I therefore direct mv
, Trustee and his successors that nothing \vhatsoever must be changed in any of the documents and
that they should be put a\vay and stored for 50 years to secure
their safety from destruction and falsification by anyone interested in the falsification and destruction of historical truth.
These directives are established by me solely for the presen;ation of documented truth as I li~ed it during my lifetime.
2. To operate and maintain the property at Organon under
the name and style of the Wilhelm Reich Museum . . . in
order to preserve some of the atmosphere in \vhich the Discovery of the Life Energy has taken place over the decades.
3. I have throughout all of my lifetime loved infants and
children and adolescents, and I also \vas ahvays loved and understood by them. Infants used to srnile at me because I had
deep contact \vith them and children of t\vo or three very often


Foreword

ix

used to become thoughtful and serious \vhen they looked at me.
This \Vas one of the great happy privileges of my life, and I
\Vant to express in son1e manner my thanks for that love bestowed upon me by my little friends. :\'lay Fate and the great
Ocean of Living Energy, fron1 \vhence they carne and into
\vhich they n1ust return sooner or later, bless then1 \vith happiness and contentment and freedom during their lifetirnes. I
hope to have contributed my good share to their future happiness. . . .
. . . all income, profits or proceeds due me and the Trust
from royalties on tools originating in n1y discoveries shall be

devoted to the care of infants every\vhere, to,vards legal
security of infants, children and adolescents in emotional, social,
parental, medical, legal, educational, professional or other
distress. Part of the proceeds may be used for basic orgonomic
research.

During the years since 1960, \Vhen the first edition of this
anthology \vas published, the Wilheln1 Reich Infant Trust Fund has
strived to fulfill its responsibility to protect and n1ake effective these
\Vishes expressed so n1ovingly by Reich in his \viii. It has not been
an easy task: fe\v have \Vanted to help; many have tried to take
\vhile giving nothing in return; others, the self-seeking and covetous,
have bent every effort to counteract Reich's \vill and to destroy his
Trust. That they have been unsuccessful is due in large measure to
the unremitting support of a few loyal friends. One of these friends
is Roger \V. Straus, Jr., Reich's A1nerican publisher, \Vith \vhom the
idea of an anthology originated.
The contents of this second edition are essentially unchanged
aside from limited editing, but much of it has been ne\vly translated
fron1 the original Ger1nan manuscripts and carefully checked by an
orgonon1ic physician. Inasmuch as it includes the corrections and
revisions Reich n1ade in his Inanuscripts after the earlier translations
had been published, this new Selected Writings is no\v the definitive edition.
Mary Higgins, Trustee
Netv York, 1973



CONTENTS

FOREWORD

vii

BIOGRAPIIICAL NOTE

xiii

SCIEl\TIFIC DEVELOP:\IENT OF \VILI-IEL\1 REICH

xvii

xix

GLOSSARY
PREFATOHY NOTE

xxiii

I.
THE \VORKSIIOP OF

Introduction

ORG0:\0~1IC FUXCTIO:\:\LIS~I

II.

The Orgastn Theory

THE DEVELOP\IENT OF THE ORGAS\! THEORY

III.

13

Therapy

ON TilE TECHI\'IQUE OF CliAHACTER A::-\ALYSIS
THE BREAKTIIROUGII II\TO THE BIOLOGICAL REAL:\1
THE EXPRESSIVE LA~GUAGE OF THE LIVI0:G

IV.

3

43
92
136

The Discovery of the Orgone

EXPERIJ\IENTAL INVESTIGATIO~ OF BIOLOGICAL Ei\ERGY
THE CARCIN"O:\IATOUS SIIRI:\KI~G BIOPATIIY
xi

183
220

xii

CONTENTS

V.

Orgonomic Functionalism

ANHvHSM, ~1YSTICIS~1, AND ~1ECHANISTICS
THE FUNCTION OF SUPERL\IPOSITION
THE LIVING ORGONO~IE

VI.
THE ORANUR

DOR
TilE

Orgone Physics
357

EXPERI~1ENT

VII.

279
318
328

Cosmic Orgone Engineering

RE~10VAL

AND CLOUD-BUSTING
E~IOTIONAL DESERT

VIII.

435
448

The En1otional Plague

THE TRAP
MOCENIGO
THE BIO-ENERGETIC ~lEANING OF TRUTH
HIDEOUS DISTORTIONS OF ORGONO~IIC TRUTH

IX.

467
488

495
507

Conclusion

TJ-IE ROOTING OF REASON IN NATURE

515

Appendix
RESPONSE
DECREE OF

INJUNCTIO~

535
540

BIBLIOGRAPHY

545

INDEX

555


BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

\Vilheln1 Reich \Vas born on March 24, 1897, in the Gern1anUkrainian part of Austria, the son of a \veil-to-do farmer. His n1other
language \Vas Gern1an, and until 1938 vVilheln1 Reich (hereafter
WR) \vas an Austrian citizen.
Although he \vas taught the Old Testa1nent as \Veil as the Ne\V
from the standpoint of scientific interest, WR had no religious
education and adhered to no religious creed or political party. His
early education ( 1903-7) \vas as a private student. He passed his
exan1inations at an Austro-German public school and attended a

German high school bct\veen 1907 and 191Ei, preparing for natural
sciences. He graduated in 191.5 \Vith Sthnmeneinhelligkeit.
WR's interest in biology and natural science \vas stimulated
early by life on the far1n, close to agriculture and cattle farn1ing and
breeding, in \Vhich he took part every sumn1er and during the harvest. Bet\veen his eighth and t\velfth years, he had his O\vn collection
and breeding laboratory of butterflies, insects, and plants under the
guidance of a private teacher. The natural life functions, including
the sexual function, \Vere fa1niliar to him as far back as he could
ren1en1ber, and this n1ay \veil have detern1ined his later strong inclination, as a biopsychiatrist, to\vard the biological foundation of the
en1otional life of n1an, and also his biophysical discoveries in the
fields of medicine and biology, as \vell as education.
After the death of his father in 1914, WR, then seventeen,
This Biographical Note and the material on the succeeding pages-the HScienti£c Developrnent of \Vilhelrn Reich," the Glossary, and the Prefatory Noteare taken from Reich's Bibliography on Orgonomy ( 1953 ). The Biographical
Note has been changed slightly and updated. "Scientific Developn1ent" has
been brought up to date. The Glossary has been revised, and the wording but
not the meaning of the Prefatory Note has been changed slightly.
xiii


xiv

BIOGRAPHICAL

~OTE

directed the fann \vork on his O\Vn, \Vithout interrupting his studies,
until the \Var disaster put an end to this \vork and destroyed all
property in 1915. He \Vas in the Austrian anny fron1 1915 to 1918
(a lieutenant fron1 1916 to 1918) and \vas at the Italian front three
titnes.

In 1918, vVI\ entered the ~lcdical School of the University of
Vienna, earning his living and paying his \vay through school by
tutoring fellu'v students in pretnedical subjects. As a \var veteran,
he \Vas per1nitted to cotnplcte the six-year course in four years, and
he passed the eighteen Rigorosa in eighteen 1nedical subjects and
receiYed "excellent'' ( ausge::.eichnet) in all the prc1nedical subjects.
He \vas graduated and obtained his tnedical degree in July 1922.
During his last year of 1nedical school, \VR took postgraduate
\Vork in internal n1cdicine \vith Ortner and Chvostck at Univcrsitv
Hospital, Vienna. He continued his postgraduate education in neuropsychiatry for t\vo years ( 1922-4) at the Neurological and Psychiatric lTniversity Clinic under Professor \Vagner-J auregg, and
\Vorked one year in the disturbed \Vards under Paul Schilder. His
postgraduate study also included attendance at polyclinical \vork in
hypnosis and suggestive therapy at the satne university clinic and
special courses and lectures in biology at the University of Vienna.
Also, \vhile still in 1nedical school, in October 1920, WR attained
n1e1nbership in the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, then under Professor Signntncl Freud.
vVR began psychoanalytic and psychiatric private practice in
1922. By 19:33, the cl0n1ands of \Vork in biophysical research required th0 tennination of private practice.
\VR \vas First Clinical Assistant at Freucl's Psychoanalytic
Polyclinic in Vienna (under the directorship of Dr. Eduard I-IitschInann) frorn its foundation in 1922 until 1928; \'ice-Director of the
Polyclinic, 192R-30, and Director of the Se1ninar for Psvchoanal)7tic
Therapy at the san1e institution, 1924-30. As a men1ber of the
faculty of the Psychoanalytic Institute in Vienna, 1924-30, WR gave
lectures on clinical subjects and biopsychiatric theory. He did research in the social causation of neurosis at the Polvclinic fron1
1924, and at 1nental-hygiene consultation centers in various districts
.I

~

.I

,.!


Biographical Note

XV

in Vienna ( Sozialistische Gcsellschaft fur Sexualberatung und
Sexualforschung), centers \vhich he founded and led fron1 1928
through 1930. He continued his 1nental-hygiene \Vork in Berlin,1930-3, as lecturer at the Psychoanalytic Clinic and at the \\7orkers'
College, and as head physician in rnental-hygiene centers of various
cultural organizations in Berlin and other Gennan cities. In the
\Vinter of 1933, Ilitler assun1ed con1plete po\ver and \VR \vas forced
to leave Gerrnany.
Bet\veen 19:34 and 1939, \VI\ lectured and did research at the
Psychological Institute of the University of Oslo, Nor\vay, \Vhich led
to the discovery of the orgone.
In 1939, having received an invitation frorn the representative
of Arnerican Psychosornatic ~ledicinc, Theodore P. \Volfe, ~I.D.,
Wilhehn Reich carne to the United States and transferred his
laboratory to Forest Hills, 1\e\v York. Fron1 1939 to 1941, he \Vas
Associate Professor of ~tedical Psychology at the N e\v School for
Social Research in N C\V York City.
The Orgone Institute \vas founded by WR in 1942 in Ne\v
York, and in the sarne year over t\VO hundred acres of land \Vere
acquired in ~tainc and called "Organon." This bcc~1n1e the hon1e of
Orgonorny, the science of the life energy. The \Vilhelm Reich
Foundation \vas founded in ~'Iaine in 1949 by students and friends
to preserve the archives of \VR and to secure the future of his

discovery of cosn1ic orgone energy.
In 1954, the Federal Food and Drug Adrninistration initiated a
cornplaint for an injunction against vVilhelm Reich and the vVilhehn
Reich Foundation, attacking specifically and clearly designed to
discredit Reich's n1onumental discovery of the cosrnic life energyorgone energy. \VI\ refused to be forced into court as a "defendant"
in rnatters of basic nah1ral research, and he explained his position in
a "Response'' addr(lssed to the United States District Judge for the
District of :Niaine.
On ~larch 19, a Decree of Injunction \vas issued on default. 0
Wilheln1 Reich \Vas subsequently accused of criminal contempt
~

The Decree of Injunction and 'VR's "Response" to the Complaint for
Injunction are reprinted in the Appendix of this volume. [Editor]


xvi

BIOGRAPHICAL

NOTE

in disobeying this injunction, and following a jury trial in May 1956
in which his plea \Vas "not guilty,'' he was sentenced to two years'
imprisonment. The Foundation \Vas fined $10,000, and an orgonoinic physician was sentenced to one year and a day in prison.
On Noven1bcr 3, 1957, vVilhelm Reich died in the Federal
Penitentiary at Le"7isburg, Pennsylvania.


SCIENTIFIC DEVELOPMENT

WILHELM

OF

REICH

Wilhehn Reich's basic scientific discoveries include the follrnving:
orgas1n theory and technique of character analysis ( 1923-34);
respiratory block and 1nuscular annor ( 1928-34); sex-econon1ic selfregulation of prilnnry natural drivc~s as distinguished fron1 secondary, perverted drives ( 1928-34); the role of irrationalisn1 and
hurnan sex-econon1y in the origin of dictatorship of all political
dcnon1inations ( 1930-4); the orgasn1 reflex ( 1934); the bio-electrical nature of sexuality and anxiety ( 193.5-6); orgone energy vesicles, bions ( 19:36-9); origin of the cancer cell fro111 bionously
disintegrated anin1al tissue, and the organization of protozoa fron1
bionously disintegrated 1noss and grass ( 1936-9); T-bacilli in sarcon1a ( 1937); discovery of the bin-energy ( orgone energy) in SAP A
bions ( 1939), in the atn1osphcre ( 1940); invention of the orgone
energy accun1ulator ( 1940); and the or gone energy field n1eter
( 1944); experiinental orgone therapy of the cancer biopathy
( 1940-.5); expcrin1ental investigation of prirnary biogenesis (Experiinent XX, 1945); 1nethod of orgonon1ic functionalisn1 ( 1945);
en1otional plague of n1an as a disease of the bio-energetic equilibriun1 ( 1947); orgonon1etric equations ( 1949-50); hypothesis of
cos1nic superhnposition of t\VO orgone energy strean1s as the basis of
hurricanes and galaxy fonnation ( 19.51); anti-nuclear radiation
effects of orgone energy ( Tlze Oranur Experilnent, First Report,
1947-51); discovery of DOH. (deadly (n·gone energy) and identification of its properties, including a specific toxicit~~ ( DOR sickness)
( 1951-2); identification of n1elanor, orite, bro\vnite, and orenc and
initial steps to\vard pre-atotnic chetnistry ( 19.51-4); use of "reversed" orgonon1ic potential in ren1oving DOR fron1 the atinosphere
in cloud-busting and \Veather control ( 1952-.5); theory of desert
XVll


xviii

SCIE!\TIFIC DEVELOPMENT

formation in nature and in n1an (the emotional desert) and demonstration of reversibility ( Orop Desert Ea and the n1edical DORbuster) ( 1954-5); theory of disease based on DOR accun1ulation in
the tissues ( 1954-.5); equations of gravity and anti-gravity
( 19.50-7); devcloptnent and practical application of social psychiatry ( 1951-7).


GLOSSARY

A ne\v scientific discipline must employ ne\v tern1s if old ones are
inapplicable. Orgonon1y introduced the follo\ving terms:
Anorgonia. The condition of diminished orgonity ( q.v.) or the lack
of it.
Armor. The total defense apparatus of the organism, consisting of the
rigidities of the character and the chronic spasms of the musculature, \vhich functions essentially as a defense against the breakthrough of the emotions-primarily anxiety, rage, and sexual excitation.
Bions. Energy vesicles that are transitional forms bet,veen non-living
and living matter. Their formation constantly occurs in nature
through disintegration and S\velling of inorganic and organic matter.
Experimental studies of bion formation have demonstrated that
they are charged \Vith orgone energy and are capable of cultivation.
Depending upon conditions, bions may develop further into protozoa or degenerate into bacteria.
Character. An individual's typical structure, his stereotyped manner of
acting and reacting. The orgonomic concept of character is functional and biological, not a static, psychological, or moralistic concept.
Character analysis. Originally a technique of psychoanalytic therapy
developed as a modification of the original symptom and resistance
analysis for the purpose of eliminating the defensive function of
the character; no\v included in psychiatric orgone therapy.
Character armor. The sum total of typical character attitudes, which
an individual develops as a defense against his emotional excitations, resulting in rigidity of the body, lack of emotional contact,
"deadness." Functionallv

. identical vvith the muscular armor .
Character, genital. The un-neurotic character structure, which does
not suffer from sexual stasis and therefore is capable of natural selfregulation on the basis of orgastic potency.
xix


XX

GLOSSARY

Character, neurotic. The neurotic structure resulting from the chronic
stasis of bio-energy in the organism. It functions autonomously and
constitutes the background for the symptom neurosis.
Emotional plague. The destructive reaction of the neurotic character on
the social scene.
l\1uscular armor. The sum total of the muscular attitudes (chronic
muscular spastns) \Vhich an individual develops as a defense against
the breakthrough of organ sensations and emotions, in particular
anxiety, rage, and sexual excitation.
Oranur. Denotes orgone energy in a state of excitation induced by nuclear energy.
Orgasm reflex. The unitary, involuntary convulsion of the total organism at the acme of the genital embrace. This reflex, because of its
involuntary character and the prevailing orgasm anxiety, is blocked
in 1nost hu1nans in civilizations that suppress infantile and adolescent genitality.
Orgastic impotence. The absence of orgastic potency. It is the most
important characteristic of the average human of today, and-by
damming up biological (or gone) energy in the organism-provides
the source of energy for all kinds of biopathic symptoms and social
irrationalism.
Orgastic potency. The capacity for total surrender to the involuntary
in the orgastic convulsion, thereby assuring the complete discharge

of excitation and the prevention of the stasis of bio-energy in the
organism. u·nfortunately, it is usually confused \vith erective and
ejaculatory potency, \Vhich are only prerequisites for the establishment of orgastic potency.
Orgone energy (OR). Primordial cosmic energy; universally present
and demonstrable visually, thermica11y, electroscopically, and by
means of Geiger~~1ueller counters. In the living organism: bioenergy, life energy. Discovered by \Vilhelm Reich between 1936
and 1940. (DOl\ denotes deadly OR energy.)
Orgone therapy
Physical orgone therapy. Application of physical orgone energy concentrated in an orgone energy accumulator to increase the natural
bio-energetic resistance of the organism against disease.
Psychiatric or gone therapy. l\1obilization of the or gone energy in the
organism; i.e., the liberation of biophysical emotions from mus-


Glossary

XXI

cular and character armorings, \Vith the goal of establishing, if
possible, orgastic potency.
Orgonity. The condition of containing orgone energy; the quality of
orgone energy contained.
Orgonometry. Quantitative orgonornic research.
Orgonon1ic ("energetic") functionalism. The functional thought technique that guides clinical and experimental orgone research. The
guiding principle is the identity of variations in their common functioning principle ( CFP). This thought technique evolved in the
course of the studv of hurnan character fo1mation and led to the
discovery of the organismic and cosmic orgone energy, thereby
proving itself to be the correct n1irroring of both living and nonliving basic natural processes.
Orgonomy. The natural science of the cosmic orgone energy.
Orgonotic. Qualities concerning the orgonity of a systern or a condition.

Sex-economy. The body of kno\\·ledge \\'ithin orgonomy \vhich deals
\Vith the cconon1y of the biological ( orgone) energy in the organism, \vith its energy household.
Stasis. The damming up of life energy in the organism. Energy source
of those diseases which result from disturbances \vithin the plasmatic system ( biopathies).
Stasis anxiety. The anxiety caused by the stasis of sexual energy in the
center of the organism \Vhen its peripheral orgastic discharge is
inhibited.
Stasis neurosis. The biophysical state of the organism resulting from
the stasis of organisn1ic or gone energy.
\Vork democracy. The functioning of the natural and intrinsically rational \Vork relationships bet\veen human beings. The concept of
work democracy represents the established reality (not the ideology) of these relationships, \vhich, though usually distorted because
of prevailing annoring and irrational political ideologies, are nevertheless at the basis of all social achievement.