Thanatos: what is the death drive according to Sigmund Freud?

Talking about Freud and Freudian psychoanalysis usually implies talking about libido and sexual drive at some point. And it is that the father of psychoanalysis considered that psychic life was mainly linked to this type of drive, with the libido being the nucleus of psychic life and vital energy.

However, this drive, also called the life drive or Eros (in reference to the Greek god), is not the only important one for the author. Throughout his work and as he advanced in the formulation of his theory, Freud considered the existence of another type of drive contrary to the first that explains a part of the human psyche Eros cannot close. We are talking about the death drive or Thanatos, about which we are going to talk throughout this article.

• Related article: "Sigmund Freud: life and work of the famous psychoanalyst"

Thanatos as a drive: definition of the death drive

The death drive or Thanatos is a concept developed by Sigmund Freud, which is born in opposition to the life drive or Eros and which is defined as the unconscious impulse and generator of organic excitation (that is, a drive) that appears as the search of the being to return to the absolute rest of the non-existence. It could be considered as the impulse that seeks its own death and disappearance.

While Eros seeks to unite and preserve life, in addition to satisfying the libido, Thanatos seeks to satisfy aggressive and destructive impulses, aiming at the disunity of matter and the return to the inorganic state. This impulse often appears in the form of aggression towards others or towards oneself, whether it is given directly or indirectly. Likewise, while Eros is a force that generates dynamism, Thanatos is characterized by generating withdrawal and a search for rest unless it is associated with eroticism.

Thanatos is not guided by the pleasure principle, like Eros, but by the Nirvana principle: it seeks dissolution, reduction and eliminate arousal not to find pleasure in conflict resolution that allow for survival and conflict resolution if not then find it in dissolution and return to nothingness.

This concept has the particularity of being something inconspicuous in a direct way: while Eros or libidinous vital energy facilitates union and acting, Thanatos tends to show itself indirectly through projection, through aggression, or through non-action or bonding with the world. An example of this is the emission of unhealthy behaviors or the resignation and passive acceptance of some type of aversive event.

• You may be interested in: "History of Psychology: authors and main theories"

The drive fusion

Eros and Thanatos do not remain as separate drives but rather interact continuously, although It's about opposing forces: Eros is a force of union and Thanatos of disunity.

Although part of the death drive remains disjointed, something that generates a gradual drift towards death, the fusion of this with the The consequence of Eros is that a large part of the death drive manifests itself by projecting outwards, generating the aggressiveness.

Death drive, not always negative

According to the father of psychoanalysis, both the life and death drives are essential for being Human beings are presented in a continuous conflict that in multiple aspects is beneficial for the human being. human.

Although the idea of ​​the death drive is controversial and may seem aversive, the truth is that for Freud it is a type of impulse necessary for survival.

At a psychic level, the existence of the death drive allows us to separate ourselves from objects, something that in turn makes it possible for us not to identify ourselves and to psychically merge with them, preserving individuality. There would also be some connection with the Oedipus complex, existing at the same time libidinous and aggressive aspects towards the parents.

In addition to this, evolutionarily the aggressiveness resulting from the fusion of both types of drive is advantageous in certain situations, allowing the fight for survival and self-defense.

Likewise, the conflict between the life instinct and the death instinct is also associated with the moment of orgasm, being Eros what makes one seek sexual satisfaction and erotic but linking the sex itself and the moment of climax to a discharge, linked to the idea of ​​rest and return to baseline and there is a certain aggressive component On it.

In fact, authors such as Lacan would identify the death drive with the idea of ​​jouissance, of satisfaction with what should generally cause us displeasure. This partly explains the satisfaction that something like revenge, sadism or even suffering, be it one's own or that of others, can cause.

in pathology

The death instinct can be positive, but it can also be reflected in aspects that are not so flattering for the human being.

Freud would come to consider that the concept of guilt would be linked to the death drive, as well as the perseverance of behaviors contrary to health or even the compulsion to repeat unpleasant acts, such as self-harm or different types of compulsive behaviors. Also the emergence of vital resignation, hopelessness and abulia they can be related to Thanatos, as well as rumination and claudication. Likewise, taken to the extreme, this drive can lead to masochistic attitudes or to suicidal ideation or attempts.

And not only at a psychopathological level: the issuance of responses of anger, denial and rejection, or even resignation in the face of presence of difficulties, such as suffering from chronic diseases, would also be linked to the Thanatos. An example of this would be do something that we know is against our health (for example, a diabetic eating something he shouldn't, or smoking in someone with pulmonary emphysema).

Eros and Thanatos: from mythology to Freud

Freud called the life and death drives Eros and Thanatos respectively, in clear reference to Greek mythology. That is why in order to conclude the article, it may be interesting to analyze the deity that symbolizes them.

Eros is one of the best-known deities in the Greek pantheon, being the god of love, vitality, and loving passion. In most versions of the Greek myth he is the son of the goddess of love Aphrodite and the god of war Ares, although in others, according to Plato in "The Banquet", he is the son of the goddess of poverty Penia and the god of abundance Poros conceived in the celebration of Aphrodite's birthday (something that could be related to different types of relationships loving).

Thanatos, on the other hand, is the god of nonviolent death. son of the goddess of the night Nix and of darkness, Erebus. This god, twin of Hypnos, the god of sleep, acted with a certain kindness, being his soft touch and being in charge of fulfilling the will of the moiras regarding the fate of mortals when the hour. Despite this, he was a feared being and a force of disunity with life, also linked to the resignation to die.

This description can make us see some of the main attributes of the life or death instincts. But mythology allows us to see not only that the attributes associated with these gods are antagonistic but also that there are some myths regarding the conflict between them. One of them is linked to the death of the nymph Ninfea.

The myth tells us that Eros, god of love and in some versions of eroticism and passion, tended to approach and incite the goddess Artemis (goddess of the hunt as well as of virginity) and the nymphs (also virginal), to which the goddess responded by pushing him away with her dates. Tired of it, Eros decided to shoot one of his love arrows at the goddess in order to make her fall. fell in love, but after the arrow was dodged by Artemis it hit one of the nymphs, water lily

The nymph began to experience a high level of desire and sexual arousal, in an uncontrolled way, arising a strong conflict between said desire and the chastity that she was her own. This conflict generated such anxiety that she decided to seek liberation in death, throwing herself into the waters of a lake in order to drown. At that moment Eros would try to save her, but he was stopped by the god of nonviolent death, Thanatos. Because of that Nymphae drowned, later being transformed by Artemis into the first water lily. and receiving the gift of reducing passion.

This myth (which has different versions) accounts for the interaction and conflict existing between the vital and destructive energy that is part of our psyche, according to the theory freudian.

Bibliographic references:

• Corsi, P. (2002). Preliminary approach to Freud's concept of the death drive. Chilean Journal of Neuropsychiatry, 40: 361-70.
• Freud, S. (1976). Beyond the pleasure principle OC XVIII 1920; 1-62.