-structures of the personal world toward which all activity is directed. (David & von Bracken, editors, 1957. p. 197.)

Tillich clarifies this concept when he explains the difference between existential and existentialist:

"Existential" points to the universally human involvement in matters of genuine concern; "existentialist" points to a philosophical movement which fights the predominance of essentialism in modern thought, be it idealistic or naturalistic essentialism. (Tillich, 1960. p. 10)

One spokesman for the existential school, Eric Fromm, describes man's unique situation in the following words:

(The).. ...awareness of himself as a separate entity, the awareness of his own short life span, of the fact that without his will he is born and against his will he dies, that he will die before those whom he loves, or they before him, the awareness of his aloneness and separateness, of his helplessness before the forces of nature and of society, all this makes his separate existence (from nature) an unbearable prison. (Fromm, 1956. p. 8.)

Thus, Fromm may say that sexual intercourse lessens one's anxiety because of a reunion with nature. The present writer, however, suggests that sexual relations not only fulfill this purpose, but also lessen the individual's anxiety because they give him what he thinks he must have in order to be living a meaningful life. This concept is the foundation of the existential psychology as presented in this paper. This school of thought makes it possible to see homosexual behavior, particularly the maintenance of it, in a new way. What follows, of course, is only a general description of which there are many variations. It is hoped that much of this can later be verified.

DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESS LEADING UP TO HOMOSEXUALITY

It is suggested that the cause of homosexuality is a separation of the child from the teachings of society. This separation may be due to a schizophrenic ailment or neuroses, or withdrawal from others because of timidity, fear or weakness (real or otherwise), or it may be because of some innate "differentness" from others. What the reason is is not so important; what the result can be is. It can give the individual a chance to form meaningful concepts and values based on a fantasy life which is not suggested to him by the society in which he lives, a fantasy life which, among other things, involves other males or the male body, perhaps because it is like one's own body.

6

mattachine REVIEW

1

In regard to the possibility of a basic inborn goal-directed behaviorpattern of the homosexual, Progoff presents some ideas which are worth considering, even though it is doubtful Progoff desires this theory to be used for this purpose. He believes that man has an "instinct" just like lower animals but that man, because of his highly developed consciousness, does not necessarily rely on it. He explains it this way:

The organic psyche is best understood as a continuous process. There is an ongoing flow of imagery taking place all the time, a very small part of which comes close enough to consciousness for us to become aware of it. This flow of protoplasmic imagery expresses and works toward the realization of a central image, an image that is for the human species what the image of nest-building and life-preservation is for the hummingbird. It is an image that expresses the seed of the species, the protoplasmic nature of the organism. It contains the essence in potentiality of what the human being can do, and what the human being can become. The fulfillment of this is wholeness. (Progoff, 1959. p. 183.)

He goes on to explain how this organic psyche contributes to and influences man's behavior:

... First there is the, protoplasmic imagery that comes forth automatically, non-consciously, and in nonrational forms, veiled and symbolic. Then there comes the conscious extrapolation of meaning from the image and their elaboration into ideas and concepts. From this comes man's philosophies of life and his science of life. They are derivatives of the primary imagery of the psyche.

The varieties of protoplasm imagery are pregnant with meaning and with implications as to the nature of man, his existence, and the universe in which he grows. But the images themselves' do not "know" these meanings; they only express them. They only reveal them, and it is left for the steadily emerging consciousness of man, the steadily sharpening intellect of the individual, to draw forth and delineate the intuitive knowledge revealed in the image. So, in comparable terms, the artist does not consciously know the fullness of what he is disclosing in the imagery of his art work. He simply places a form there; and the interpreter of art, the man of intellect and of a kind of intuition other than the artist's comes and finds material in the natural symbolism of the art work with which to construct his philosophies. (ibid., pp. 190-191.1

It is what follows that is of special significance to one who is developing a construct as proposed in this paper. It can be interpreted possibly to mean that an individual is homosexually inclined because of an inborn nature. Progoff asks:

How does "mind" express itself at, the high levels of human men-

་

7