An innate desire for self-annihilation, proposed by certain psychologists.
Compare with life instinct
Example sentencesExamples
The conflict between libido and ego-instincts becomes a conflict between eros and the death instinct.
Segal describes a psychic pain involving the expression of the death instinct.
Conversely, the death instinct originates with the birth of the human being and is an integral part of development, as has been pointed out by Freud and Klein.
So it's suddenly obvious why Freud might want to connect repetition with that utterly final peacemaker, the death instinct.
Freud considered that aggression was derived from the death instinct being redirected towards the external world.
Definition of death instinct in US English:
death instinct
noun
Psychoanalysis
An innate desire for self-annihilation, thought to be manifest in the conservative and regressive tendency of the psyche to reduce tension.
〔心理分析〕死亡本能。比较LIFE INSTINCT
Compare with life instinct
Example sentencesExamples
So it's suddenly obvious why Freud might want to connect repetition with that utterly final peacemaker, the death instinct.
Segal describes a psychic pain involving the expression of the death instinct.
The conflict between libido and ego-instincts becomes a conflict between eros and the death instinct.
Conversely, the death instinct originates with the birth of the human being and is an integral part of development, as has been pointed out by Freud and Klein.
Freud considered that aggression was derived from the death instinct being redirected towards the external world.