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The Bion Experiments: On the Origin of Life
The Bion Experiments, published in a limited German edition in 1938 and now available in English for the first time, represents a cornerstone in Reich's scientific development. The work documents a series of experiments conducted in Oslo in 1936-37 in which Reich applied the formula of tension?charge?discharge?relaxation, derived from his research on the function of the orgasm, to the microscopic biological world, thereby opening a route to an understanding of the origin of life. This work is divided into two parts: the first, a detailed report on the experiments; the second, Reich's conclusions and an exposition of his research method.
The Bion Experiments provides a unique insight into Reich's scientific method, and makes available the experimental material essential to understanding his later work with cancer and orgone biophysics.
The Bion Experiments provides a unique insight into Reich's scientific method, and makes available the experimental material essential to understanding his later work with cancer and orgone biophysics.
- GenresPsychology
210 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1979
About the author
Wilhelm Reich
166 books746 followersWilhelm Reich (24 March 1897 – 3 November 1957) was a Jewish Austrian-American doctor of medicine, psychiatrist/psychoanalyst and a member of the second generation of analysts after Sigmund Freud. Author of several influential books, he became one of the most radical figures in the history of psychiatry.
Reich was a respected analyst for much of his life, focusing on character structure, rather than on individual neurotic symptoms. He promoted adolescent sexuality, the availability of contraceptives and abortion, and the importance for women of economic independence. Synthesizing material from psychoanalysis, cultural anthropology, economics, sociology, and ethics, his work influenced writers such as Alexander Lowen, Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman, Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, A. S. Neill, and William Burroughs.
He was also a controversial figure, who came to be viewed by the psychoanalytic establishment as having gone astray or as having succumbed to mental illness. His work on the link between human sexuality and neuroses emphasized "orgastic potency" as the foremost criterion for psycho-physical health. He said he had discovered a form of energy, which he called "orgone," that permeated the atmosphere and all living matter, and he built "orgone accumulators," which his patients sat inside to harness the energy for its reputed health benefits. It was this work, in particular, that cemented the rift between Reich and the psychoanalytic establishment.
Reich, of Jewish descent and a communist, was living in Germany when Adolf Hitler came to power. He fled to Scandinavia in 1933 and subsequently to the United States in 1939. In 1947, following a series of critical articles about orgone and his political views in The New Republic and Harper's, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began an investigation into his claims, winning an injunction against the interstate sale of orgone accumulators. Charged with contempt of court for violating the injunction, Reich conducted his own defense, which involved sending the judge all his books to read, and arguing that a court was no place to decide matters of science. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and in August 1956, several tons of his publications were burned by the FDA. He died of heart failure in jail just over a year later, days before he was due to apply for parole.
Reich was a respected analyst for much of his life, focusing on character structure, rather than on individual neurotic symptoms. He promoted adolescent sexuality, the availability of contraceptives and abortion, and the importance for women of economic independence. Synthesizing material from psychoanalysis, cultural anthropology, economics, sociology, and ethics, his work influenced writers such as Alexander Lowen, Fritz Perls, Paul Goodman, Saul Bellow, Norman Mailer, A. S. Neill, and William Burroughs.
He was also a controversial figure, who came to be viewed by the psychoanalytic establishment as having gone astray or as having succumbed to mental illness. His work on the link between human sexuality and neuroses emphasized "orgastic potency" as the foremost criterion for psycho-physical health. He said he had discovered a form of energy, which he called "orgone," that permeated the atmosphere and all living matter, and he built "orgone accumulators," which his patients sat inside to harness the energy for its reputed health benefits. It was this work, in particular, that cemented the rift between Reich and the psychoanalytic establishment.
Reich, of Jewish descent and a communist, was living in Germany when Adolf Hitler came to power. He fled to Scandinavia in 1933 and subsequently to the United States in 1939. In 1947, following a series of critical articles about orgone and his political views in The New Republic and Harper's, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began an investigation into his claims, winning an injunction against the interstate sale of orgone accumulators. Charged with contempt of court for violating the injunction, Reich conducted his own defense, which involved sending the judge all his books to read, and arguing that a court was no place to decide matters of science. He was sentenced to two years in prison, and in August 1956, several tons of his publications were burned by the FDA. He died of heart failure in jail just over a year later, days before he was due to apply for parole.
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September 18, 2024
REICH EXPOUNDS ONE OF HIS MOST CONTROVERSIAL THEORIES
Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957) was an Austrian psychoanalyst, who tried to reconcile psychoanalysis with Marxism, and contended that neurosis is rooted in a lack of what he called "orgastic potency." He claimed to have discovered a cosmic sexual energy he call “Orgone,” self-publishing books about his increasingly controversial theories, and selling “Orgone Accumulator” boxes commercially, for which he was ultimately imprisoned for violation of FDA regulations, had his books burned, and died in prison. He continues to be a popular (if polarizing) figure, and his books are all still in print, such as 'Early Writings,' 'Character Analysis,' 'The Mass Psychology of Fascism,'' Selected Writings: An Introduction to Orgonomy,' 'Listen, Little Man!,' 'The Function of the Orgasm,' 'The Murder of Christ,' etc.
The Editor of this 1979 publication stated, "The Bion Experiments is Wilhelm Reich's detailed account of his laboratory investigations on the origin of life... it set off shock waves of indignation and controversy culminating in a savage newspaper attack that made Reich's continued sojourn in Norway impossible and caused the dismissal of his collaborators... from his university position in France." (Pg. v)
Reich wrote in the Preface, "From Freud I adopted the hypothetical equation of life impulses and sexual impulses. Once I had succeeded in refuting his theory of the death instinct and in developing my orgasm theory, I was able to proceed to experimental biology. The experimental proof of the identity of the sexual energy process and the life energy process is thus simultaneously a confirmation of Freud's hypothesis." (Pg. 4-5)
He states, "When using strong water-immersion lenses at a magnification of 2300 to 3000x, I was able clearly to observe pulsation at individual points in the contractile formations." (Pg. 50) He adds, "I became more and more convinced that these were probably living forms which were, so to speak, incomplete; for example, the movements of the pseudo-amoebae were abrupt, slow, tremulous without any inner flow; i.e., 'mechanical'. The objects must therefore be in preliminary stages of life. For my own convenience, I called them 'bions.' Could complete living organisms develop out of the bions?" (Pg. 51-52)
Later, he observes, "For the time being, we must say that probably all unorganized matter has the ability to produce life, depending on its composition and environment. Life can burst forth anywhere for a short or long period of time, given the right conditions." (Pg. 114)
He adds, "Spontaneous generation, however, can also mean that now, continuously, in every minute and every second, life is developing from non-living substances. If this can be proved beyond all doubt, it would naturally not contradict the development of life from germs, because spontaneously generated life would maintain itself through reproduction." (Pg. 144)
He asserts, "It is obvious that all life must possess a common basic rhythm, a common basic law which it should be possible to detect in every detail of life." (Pg. 162)
Reich's writings are nearly all controversial; this one, perhaps more than most.
Wilhelm Reich (1897-1957) was an Austrian psychoanalyst, who tried to reconcile psychoanalysis with Marxism, and contended that neurosis is rooted in a lack of what he called "orgastic potency." He claimed to have discovered a cosmic sexual energy he call “Orgone,” self-publishing books about his increasingly controversial theories, and selling “Orgone Accumulator” boxes commercially, for which he was ultimately imprisoned for violation of FDA regulations, had his books burned, and died in prison. He continues to be a popular (if polarizing) figure, and his books are all still in print, such as 'Early Writings,' 'Character Analysis,' 'The Mass Psychology of Fascism,'' Selected Writings: An Introduction to Orgonomy,' 'Listen, Little Man!,' 'The Function of the Orgasm,' 'The Murder of Christ,' etc.
The Editor of this 1979 publication stated, "The Bion Experiments is Wilhelm Reich's detailed account of his laboratory investigations on the origin of life... it set off shock waves of indignation and controversy culminating in a savage newspaper attack that made Reich's continued sojourn in Norway impossible and caused the dismissal of his collaborators... from his university position in France." (Pg. v)
Reich wrote in the Preface, "From Freud I adopted the hypothetical equation of life impulses and sexual impulses. Once I had succeeded in refuting his theory of the death instinct and in developing my orgasm theory, I was able to proceed to experimental biology. The experimental proof of the identity of the sexual energy process and the life energy process is thus simultaneously a confirmation of Freud's hypothesis." (Pg. 4-5)
He states, "When using strong water-immersion lenses at a magnification of 2300 to 3000x, I was able clearly to observe pulsation at individual points in the contractile formations." (Pg. 50) He adds, "I became more and more convinced that these were probably living forms which were, so to speak, incomplete; for example, the movements of the pseudo-amoebae were abrupt, slow, tremulous without any inner flow; i.e., 'mechanical'. The objects must therefore be in preliminary stages of life. For my own convenience, I called them 'bions.' Could complete living organisms develop out of the bions?" (Pg. 51-52)
Later, he observes, "For the time being, we must say that probably all unorganized matter has the ability to produce life, depending on its composition and environment. Life can burst forth anywhere for a short or long period of time, given the right conditions." (Pg. 114)
He adds, "Spontaneous generation, however, can also mean that now, continuously, in every minute and every second, life is developing from non-living substances. If this can be proved beyond all doubt, it would naturally not contradict the development of life from germs, because spontaneously generated life would maintain itself through reproduction." (Pg. 144)
He asserts, "It is obvious that all life must possess a common basic rhythm, a common basic law which it should be possible to detect in every detail of life." (Pg. 162)
Reich's writings are nearly all controversial; this one, perhaps more than most.
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