Beyond the Pleasure Principle (Dover Thrift Editions) [Soft Cover ]

This controversial 1920 publication marks a turning point in the celebrated philosophers theoretical approach Previously Freud considered most behavior attributable to sexual impulses In this volume he expands his theory beyond these creative impulses to discuss the impact on human psychology of the death drive or Thanatos which he defines as an urge inherent in all organic life to restore an earlier state of things Beyond the Pleasure Principle is among Freuds most intensely debated works and the important questions that it raises continue to be widely debated a century later Rejected by some as a pseudo-biological speculation the concept of Thanatos was embraced by others and formed a path to subsequent theories concerning the minds attacks on itself negative narcissism and addiction to near-death experiences The concept also helped link Western psychoanalysis with Eastern perspectives on life and death making this book essential reading for students of psychology history and literat