Origins of a theory of psychic temporality in Freud: The study of eels and the Darwinist influence of Carl Claus

Freud’s research on sexuality was, without doubt, a paradigm shift in the temporary conception of childhood experiences in relation to adult life. From those first experiences arise mnemic material which retroactively constitute the place and function of the unconscious. The theory of a psychic temporality that governs mood process, among other things, brings into question the classic model of time in western societies. Freud’s relation to these issues is already observable in his first scientific work, where he faces issues related to the sexual differentiation and heterochrony of living beings.