Emotional Plague
It is interesting to note the evolution of Reich’s discoveries which from the psychological realm led to the social realm, then to the biological realm and finally to the physical-astronomical realm, in the opposite direction from the natural sequence where clearly the fundamental physical functions determine the biological functions which in turn determine the social functions which finally determine the psychological functions, as can be seen in the following diagram:
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I Psychological realm
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II Social realm
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III Biological realm
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IV Physical-astronomical realm
One is struck in this diagram by the order of natural importance of the more superficial realms (in the evolutionary sense the realms that are younger and therefore less vast): the psychological and social realms. The social realm, in fact, is older and more profound than the psychological realm, which is determined by the biological realm (genetics and various biological laws) but also by the environment and society. The famous “nature or nurture” dichotomy is thus clarified: “nature” (the biological realm) is more profound than psychological functions, but so is “nurture” (the social realm); although in a less vast and profound way than “nature”; “nurture” also determines psychological life.
A practical example will clarify this concept: exemplary parents who educate their children in a functional way with love, being careful to prevent the formation of armor and therefore neurotic disorders, could see all their good work ruined by an unhealthy or negative external environment which could be experienced by their children at any time during their growth. The importance of preventing the formation of armor in children is therefore equal to that of protecting children from the emotional plague and its infinite manifestations.
