Enquête sur la pulsion de mort

Abstract

The death drive is a concept that has been a controversial one since Freud
wrote Beyond the Pleasure Principle in 1920. In this text, the opinions of
several important authors are exposed in order to get a panoramic vision
of the way the death drive concept is understood and used or criticized
and even refused by some of them. The author will emphasize the points of
view that seem to explain destructivity in a more intelligible way and suggest
a comprehension of this concept not as a drive but as something that
is implanted by the primal care figure. Clinical vignettes are presented in
order to illustrate the manifestation of the destructive mouvement, in relation
with implicit messages received from the parents.