AS FOR THE comprehension of illness in general, an understanding of the pathological use of alcohol calls for a synthesis of knowledge of the several biological and social sciences. The particular contribution of psychiatry and psychiatrists has arisen out of experiences in the treatment of individual patients. Part of this contribution has been in the form of descriptions and classifications of different stages of intoxication with, and habituation to, alcohol. Allied to this, but more specially connected with interest in the psychotherapeutic approach to the problem of excessive drinking, has been the development of an understanding of the psychological forces motivating the impulse to drink excessively. An adequate review of the many ideas which have been proposed concerning the nature of these forces has previously been made by Bowman and Jellinek.1Consequently, it does not seem fruitful to estimate again the relative values of the various theories. Instead, the