36 pages 1 hour read

Sigmund Freud

Beyond the Pleasure Principle

Nonfiction | Essay / Speech | Adult | Published in 1920

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Essay Topics

1.

How does Beyond the Pleasure Principle compare with Freud’s earlier views? Does this work on the death drive challenge his early arguments about human motivation, behavior, and libido, or simply expand them?

2.

Explore a piece of literature, historical moment, or work of art in relation to the concepts of Thanatos and Eros. How do the death drive and life drive contribute to your understanding? How might the theory be applied to understanding global conflict and war?

3.

How has the concept of the death drive influenced later thinkers, like Jacques Lacan and Gilles Deleuze? How have these thinkers and others extended and criticized Freud’s theories?