In this 1920 essay, Freud revises his earlier theory that the mind is driven chiefly by the pursuit of pleasure. Drawing on traumatic neuroses of war veterans, on a child's game of throwing a spool away and pulling it back, and on repetition in patients, he suggests that people repeat painful experiences. This leads him to propose a death drive, an instinct toward a return to the inorganic, in conflict with the life drives.
For readers of psychoanalysis and philosophy. It is short but difficult and speculative, and is often read to see how Freud's theory changed after the First World War.
Deep, inward-looking and open-ended; a demanding read.
Best for readers like The Literary Connoisseur. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2011
- Language
- DE
