Iwan Bloch (8 April 1872 – 21 November 1922), also known as Ivan Bloch, was a German

dermatologist Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A dermatologist is a specialist medi ...

, and

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

psychoanalyst PsychoanalysisFrom Greek: and is a set of theories and techniques of research to discover unconscious processes and their influence on conscious thought, emotion and behaviour. Based on dream interpretation, psychoanalysis is also a talk th ...

born in

Delmenhorst Delmenhorst (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Demost'') is an urban district (''List of German urban districts, Kreisfreie Stadt'') in Lower Saxony, Germany. It has a population of 74,500 and is located west of downtown Bremen (city), Bremen with which ...

, Grand Ducal Oldenburg,

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, and often called the first

sexologist Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

. Together with

Magnus Hirschfeld Magnus Hirschfeld (14 May 1868 – 14 May 1935) was a German physician, Sexology, sexologist and LGBTQ advocate, whose German citizenship was later revoked by the Nazi government.David A. Gerstner, ''Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer ...

and

Albert Eulenburg Albert Eulenburg (; 10 August 1840 – 3 July 1917) was a German neurologist born in Berlin. Education Born into a Jewish family, he studied medicine at the Universities of Berlin, Bern and Zurich, earning his doctorate in 1861. Among his instr ...

, Bloch is known for having proposed the new concept of a science of sexuality (''Sexualwissenschaft'') or

sexology Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, Human sexual activity, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social crit ...

. In 1906 he wrote in German the book ''Das Sexualleben unserer Zeit in seinen Beziehungen zur modernen Kultur'' which was translated as ''The Sexual Life of our Time in its Relations to Modern Civilization'', a complete encyclopedia of the sexual sciences in their relation to modern civilization.Bloch I., (1906) ''Das Sexualleben unserer Zeit in seinen Beziehungen zur modernen Kultur''. Marcus Verlagsbuchhandlung, Berlin.
''Transl. eng.'' (1909
''The Sexual Life of Our Time in Its Relations to Modern Civilization''
Rebman, London. He is also known for having discovered the

Marquis de Sade Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade ( ; ; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814) was a French writer, libertine, political activist and nobleman best known for his libertine novels and imprisonment for sex crimes, blasphemy and pornography ...

's manuscript of ''

The 120 Days of Sodom ''The 120 Days of Sodom, or the School of Libertinage'' () is an unfinished novel by the French writer and nobleman Marquis de Sade, Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade, written in 1785 and published in 1904 after its manuscript was r ...

'', which had been believed to be lost, and published it under the pseudonym Eugen Dühren in 1904. He had previously published ''Marquis de Sade: his life and works.'' In 1899 under the same

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

, which he used later for the publishing of more works about Sade and Rétif de la Bretonne.

Early life

Bloch came from a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family. His father Louis Bloch (1846–1892) was a cattle dealer from Bassum who had a total of five children with his wife Rosa Lisette Rosette, née Meyer (1845–1921).

Legacy

According to

Sigmund Freud Sigmund Freud ( ; ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies seen as originating fro ...

, Bloch's studies were instrumental in the development of the anthropological approach to the theory of sexuality. Before Bloch, homosexuality was analyzed using a pathological approach.Freud, ''Three Essays of the Theory of Sexuality'', p. 5

''Handbook of Sexology'' and other works

Iwan Bloch began the publication of his ''Handbuch der gesamten Sexualwissenschaft in Einzeldarstellungen'' (''Handbook of Sexology in its Entirety Presented in Separate Studies'') in 1912. Three volumes appeared until the project was aborted because of Bloch's untimely death at age 50, in 1922. *''Handbuch der Gesamten Sexualwissenschaft in Einzeldarstellungen'' (Band 1, Band 2, Band 3: Louis Marcus, Berlin, 1912–25): **I. ''Die Prostitution. Hälfte 1'' (1912) **II. ''Die Prostitution. Hälfte 2'' with Georg Loewenstein was issued in Berlin by Louis Marcus in 1925 **III. ''

Die Homosexualität des Mannes und des Weibes ''Die Homosexualität des Mannes und des Weibes'' is a classic 1914 book on homosexuality in men and women that was written by German people, German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld. A second edition was published in 1920. Hirschfeld was himself gay ...

''. (with

) (1914) He had published earlier: *''Irrungen menschlicher Liebe'' (n.d., as ''Veriphantor'') *''Das Versehen der Frauen in Vergangenheit und Gegenwart und die Anschauungen der Aerzte, Naturforscher und Philosophen darüber'' (1899, as ''Gerhard von Welsenburg'') *''Der

und seine Zeit. Ein Beitrag zur Cultur- und Sittengeschichte des 18. Jahrhunderts. Mit besonderer Beziehung auf die Lehre von der Psychopathia Sexualis'' (1900 as ''Eugen Dühren'' Barsdorf, Berlin, 1900; Max von Harrwitz, Berlin, 1904; 5. Aufl. Barsdorf, Berlin, 1915, in series:''Studien zur Geschichte des menschlichen Geschlechtslebens'' Bd. 1.; Altogether 7 editions in his lifetime. Reissued in 1978: Heyne, München ) *''Der Ursprung der

Syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent syphilis, latent or tertiary. The prim ...

. Eine medizinische und kulturgeschichtliche Untersuchung'' (G. Fischer, Jena, 1901) *''Beiträge zur Aetiologie der "Psychopathia sexualis"'' (Dohrn, Dresden, 1902) *''Das Geschlechtsleben in England, mit besonderer Beziehung auf London, Studien zur Geschichte des menschlichen Geschlechtslebens'' as ''Eugen Dühren'', in four volumes: **I. ''Die beiden Erscheinungsformen des Sexuallebens. Die Ehe und die Prostitution.'' **II-III. ''Der Einfluss äusserer Faktoren auf das Geschlechtsleben in England.'' (M. Lilienthal, 1901–03.) **IV. ''Das Geschlechtsleben in England'' (3 vols. Berlin: H. Barsdorf) *''Der Fetischismus'' (1903, as ''Veriphantor'') *''Das erste Auftreten der Syphilis (Lustseuche) in der europäischen Kulturwelt. Gewürdigt in seiner weltgeschichtlichen Bedeutung, dargestellt nach Anfang, Verlauf und vorraussichtlichem Ende'' (Fischer, Jena, 1904) *''

Rétif de la Bretonne Nicolas Restif de la Bretonne, born Nicolas-Edme Rétif or Nicolas-Edme Restif (; 23 October 1734 – 3 February 1806), also known as Rétif, was a French novelist. The term '' retifism'' for shoe fetishism was named after him (an early nov ...

. Der Mensch, der Schriftsteller, der Reformator'', (Max Harrwitz, Berlin, 1906, as ''Eugen Dühren'') *''Rétif-Bibliothek. Verzeichnis der französischen und deutschen Ausgaben und Schriften von und über Nicolas Edme Restif de la Bretonne'' (bibliography of, Berlin, 1906, as ''Eugen Dühren'') *''Die sexuelle Osphresiologie'' (1906, as ''Albert Hagen'') *''Das Sexualleben unserer Zeit in seinen Beziehungen zur modernen Kultur'' (Louis Marcus, Verlagbuchhandlung, Berlin, 1907) (this fundamental work appeared in many later editions) *''Englische Sittengeschichte'' (earlier: ''Das Geschlechtsleben in England'') (Two volumes, 1912, as ''Eugen Dühren'') Were published after his death: *''Die Prostitution'' (the 2nd volume appeared posthumously in 1925) *''Anthropological Studies on the Strange Sexual Practices of All Races and All Ages'' (1933, reprint in 2001) * ''A History of English Sexual Morals''; (translated by William H. Forstern. London: Francis Aldor, 1936) * ''Sexual Life in England, Past and Present'' (London: Alfred Aldor, 1938) *in English (abridged): ''Marquis de Sade. His life and his works''; (translated by James Bruce. Castle/ Book Sales, NY 1948, 128 pp.) *(French and Spanish translations were also issued.) *''Neue Forschungen über den Marquis de Sade und seine Zeit. Mit besonderer Berücksichtigung der Sexualphilosophie de Sade's auf Grund des neuentdeckten Original-Manuskriptes seines Hauptwerkes'' (as ''Eugen Dühren'', reprint 1965; and again by VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, Saarbrücken, 2007) * Projekt Gutenberg-DE:'' Bibliothek der Sexualwissenschaft'' 36 Klassiker als Faksimile auf DVD. Hille & Partner

Notes

References

*White M. J. (1972). ''New Zealand Psychologist'', Vol. 1 Issue 1: "The legacy of Iwan Bloch (1872–1922)".
Der Papiertiger: Bloch, Iwan

External links