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Running Head: THANATOS AND EROS

Thanatos and Eros:


The yin and yang of Freudian theory
Joseph Brown
Metropolitan State University of Denver

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Abstract

In order to understand Sigmund Freud and psychoanalysis, it is important that one


understands certain theories. While the concept of Id, Ego, and Superego are the most well
known in regards to psychoanalysis the theory that I believe holds the most importance is that of
the interaction between the two drives: Thanatos and Eros; Thanatos being the drive of death and
destruction and Eros being the drive of creativity and love. Of all of Freuds theories, this is the
one that I believe has the most substance and potential for application. From a historical,
philosophical, and symbolic point of view the interaction of these two drives show the most
potential for application.

Keywords: thanatos, eros, freud, drive, psychoanalysis

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For every cloud, there is a silver lining, for every good there is a bad, for every yin there
is a yang. Thanatos and Eros share this relationship, one being the drive of life and creation
while the other the drive of death and destruction. Sigmund Freuds theory of these internal
drives and conflicts is not an entirely original concept however it is one of the first in
psychology. Is Freuds theory baseless? Can it be applicable today and how?
Sigmund Freud is one of the grandfathers of psychology and the founder of
psychoanalysis making him one of the more important figure heads in the field of psychology.
Freud was one of the first to come forward with his own theories on how and why human beings
act the way they do. Freuds theories are based in the unconscious and impulses that drive us to
act. The three main pillars of the Freudian model are: the Id, the Ego, and the Superego (Freud,
1989). The Id is the part of our unconscious that is complete impulse and is the libido seeking
only to fulfill its every aching desire (Freud, 1989). The Superego is the strict moral compass
that tries to limit the impulses of the Id (Freud, 1989). The Ego is the balance between the two
that tries to maintain a healthy equilibrium (Freud, 1989). These three parts make up the psychic
self in Freudian theory, the interactions of these three personas make up how we act and interact
in our daily lives. The interactions of these three personas make up the reason of our actions or
our inactions. These interactions are driven by two driving forces: Thanatos and Eros.
Thanatos is known as the death drive. Freud believed that human beings have an
unconscious desire to destroy both themselves and others. Thanatos is believed to be an
extension of the Freudian theory of the pleasure drive. Freud believed that the goal of human
existence was to appease the pleasure principle, and Thanatos derives pleasure out of destruction

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(Bunnin & Yu, 2004). Freud described Thanatos as the process of returning to the inorganic,
making that which is wholesome living and beautiful, dead, decrepit, and utterly destroyed
(Bunnin & Yu, 2004).
The idea that humans have an innate drive towards death and destruction is not a new
idea and can be seen in various forms throughout history. The most obvious coming from the
name itself: Thanatos. In Greek mythology Thanatos was an angel of death and the son of Nyx
and Erebos the deities of night and darkness (Winter, 2011). Death has often been characterized
by the color black in classical symbolism, and can be seen as the darker half to the Yin Yang and
even used for names of horrible diseases such as the Black Death. As for the idea that humans
have a certain love for death and destruction, it is not hard to see how he could have come up
with this theory. It is said that man has been trying to kill each other off since the beginning of
time; some of our greatest legends glorify death. The founding of Rome came from the death of
Remus by Romulus hand, humanity killed the son of God, and God himself compels his
followers to slay those who do not worship him. Ours is the only species that contains serial
killers and our species is the only one that wages war against each other. Freud lived through the
horrors of the First World War, and saw such horrors his fellow human beings could commit
(Gay, 1988). Even today seventy four years after the death of Sigmund Freud we can still see
how his theory can still be applicable. Our movies are violent containing mass depictions of
gore, death, and pain. As do our video games, television shows, and even the internet. We as a
species have a morbid fascination with death and destruction, even at the expense of our fellow
man. For example in the cases of serial killers, the victims names are not nearly as remembered
as the killer, and we do not necessarily look at the crimes of a serial killer out of pity of the
victims, but rather out of morbid curiosity of the actions of the serial killer himself. Our biggest

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problem facing us is explaining this love of death and destruction, instead of looking inward at
ourselves it would be simpler to just state that human beings have an internal drive towards these
kinds of actions. If we can take this emotion and merely write it off as a mere biological drive,
then in a way we can pass off the blame and not take the responsibility upon ourselves. Looking
at Thanatos from this perspective makes it understandable how and why Freud developed the
theory of the Thanatos drive.
While Thanatos may be the drive towards death and destruction, Eros is the drive to live
and create. Freud believed that Eros was the sexual drive that gave us purpose and drive towards
sexual gratification and the need to procreate (Bunnin & Yu, 2004). Freud believed that all
forms of creativity were subliminally sexual, that each form of creativity gave some form of
sexual gratification (Bunnin & Yu, 2004). So under Freudian view great artists, musicians, and
architects gained some form of sexual satisfaction from their works. Eros plays a very important
role in Freuds theories on childhood development, believing that sexual drives can be seen in a
person from infant to death (Freud, 1989).
The word Eros translated from ancient Greek translates to love, but more on the emphasis
of romantic and intimate love. Eros is better known in ancient Greek culture as smiting
individuals with lustful passion often with arrows of love, we know Eros more by his Latin
counter-part Cupid (Bunnin & Yu, 2004). In ancient Greek myths Eros can be seen as both a
positive and a negative, in that love can be beautiful and romantic and it can also be lustful and
destructive. Some of the more famous Greek myths involving the Greek goddesses involve lust
and the consequences, such as Hera and the swan, the bathing of Artemis, and the creation of the
medusa by Aphrodite. Freud was not the first philosopher to contemplate the ideas of Eros, lust,
and love. Once again going back to the ancient Greeks, Plato philosophized that Eros had two

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dimensions where we love not only by carnal and lustful attractions, but also an internal love that
goes beyond mere physical attraction. Even the phrase platonic love, a love that is chaste and
non-sexual comes from Platos philosophy on Eros believing that love does not necessarily have
to be physical. Freud stated in his paper The Resistances to Psycho-Analysis, that his views on
Eros were in line with Plato, that when he referred to a sexual drive it was not to be confused
with the primary genital interaction as we understand it (Freud, Gay, & Strachey, 1959). From
this statement Freud tries to defend his stance of sexuality in childhood, believing that its not
sexual gratification in the sense of genital and orgasmic satisfaction, but from a secondary form
of love a platonic-sexual drive if you will. If my interpretation of Freudian Eros is correct, than
Freud believed that we derive pleasure from creation and creation can come in many forms. As
children, we draw, we dream, we play, we are very creative. In fact in could be argued we are
our most creative as children, creating complex games and other ideas. Now why do we do these
things as children? Are we conditioned to do so as the behaviorists would say? Not under
Freudian ideas where we have this drive, this need to be creative. Freud believed we derive
pleasure from being creative from making things, so in a sense it can be seen as almost biological
(Freud, Gay, & Strachey, 1959).
From a historical point-of-view Freud could use this theory to explain the creativity of
man. Why would great painters and sculptors like: Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo di
Lodovico Buonarroti Simon, and Vincent Van Gogh create such magnificent works of art?
Under behaviorist theory they could easily write it off that they were conditioned to because
most off their famous works were commissioned and paid for. However this does not explain
humanities appreciation for creativity and love of these works. A better example would be
musicians and composers, how could one explain the Romantic Era of music with such

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composers as: Ludwig Von Beethoven, Franz Schubert, and Richard Wagner, whose musical
compositions went against the Classical style of compositions of Mozart, Bach, and Salieri, to
elicit more emotion and feeling from their music, in fact the entire music industry from past to
present shows the exact meaning of Eros pleasure from creating on the basis of merely wanting
to create. Its not so difficult to see how creative we are in the culinary world as well, if there
were no creativity we could merely survive on the bare basics of nutrition, however just looking
at such cuisines as Italian, Indian, and Mexican we see a plethora of different flavors ranging
from bold to subtle and we derive pleasure from consuming and creating these dishes. If it were
so basic that humans were like any other animal like the behaviorists assume, humans wouldnt
have such a vast culinary palette. We would consume foods in their most basic forms and that
would be it. So once again how do we explain human creativity in the Freudian model? That we
have a drive for it, an unconscious need and desire to create.
Freuds theory of Thanatos and Eros show a dual nature of humanity, this type of
duality is not a new idea, the easiest comparison I can make is Robert Louis Stevensons famous
book: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In the Story Dr. Jekyll has to try and
maintain his humanity while turning into the brutal and sadistic Hyde (Stevenson, 1991). This
books theme is the juggling of good and evil within the same body, and this conflict of good and
evil can be seen throughout history. Black and white, good and evil, Thanatos and Eros this dual
nature of conflict is universal and has been around in stories as early as we can find. I do not feel
however, that the relationship of Thanatos and Eros is that simple. To me it seems that the
relationship is more akin to the relationship of Yin and Yang. Looking at the Taoist taijitu we see
a black half sphere with a white dot inside of it and we see a white half sphere with a black dot
on the inside (Choy & Taylor, 2005). To me this relationship perfectly represents Thanatos and

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Eros, Thanatos being the black half sphere representing the negative aspects of humanity. While
Thanatos is viewed negatively for a reason, Thanatos does have its positive aspects. Our
fascination with death has gained us insight into our anatomy and we have reaped medical
benefits from the study of how people die. Even from the atrocities of the holocaust of World
War Two, we still use research retrieved by Nazi doctors who committed some of the worst
atrocities (Cohen, 2012). We study the lives of serial killers so as to gain an insight into the
diseased mind and attempt to find methods of treatment for the individuals. As disturbing and
morbid as Thanatos is, it still has its benefits to our society. Looking at the other side of the
spectrum, Eros can be characterized by the white half sphere, and within this half sphere we see
a dark center, likewise Eros has its negative aspects as well. Eros is creativity and love, both of
these can have a negative side. Love has lust which if unchecked can lead to unspeakable
perversions: rape, pedophilia, even sadomasochism. Creativity has given us the airplane,
harnessing electricity, and works of art; on the other hand it has also given us: machine guns,
atomic weapons, and the different means of hurting our fellow man.
Freud believed that human beings had both of these drives and that certain actions
were caused by a drive being more dominant than the other. This idea once again makes me
think of the yin yang and how it interacts with itself. The relationship of yin and yang is push
and pull, where we try to maintain stability by trying to get these two natures to balance each
other out in a relationship of harmony (Choy & Taylor, 2005). The way that Thanatos and Eros
attempt to maintain balance is through the process of sublimation. Sublimation is the process of
which we channel socially unacceptable thoughts and impulses into socially accepted and
productive actions (Freud & Rivers, 1950). This channeling of emotions and thought patterns is
where once again I see similarities between than Thanatos and Eros and Yin and Yang. These

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two emotions are naturally contradictory; however through proper channeling they become
complimentary to each other (Freud, 1989) (Choy & Taylor, 2005).
Sigmund Freud is an interesting individual, in that I am not entirely sure whether
to praise him or ridicule him. Of all of the Freudian theories this one makes the most sense to
me. While the ideas of Id, Ego, and Superego still confuse me in how the idea ever made sense
in Freuds mind, the idea of the Oedipus and Electra complex disgust me, and the ridiculousness
of penis envy still bring sniggers and jeers (Freud, 1989). I truly do believe Freud was taking a
step in the right direction when it comes to the dual theory of Thanatos and Eros. Perhaps I am
looking far deeper into this theory than Freud ever did, which is entirely possible, but I am pretty
sure he did. The ideas that I have just gone over are not new and have been around since ancient
times, so I would find it hard to believe that he never heard these ideas and contributed his own
theories to the stories and religious philosophies that were already available. As for whether or
not I agree with Freuds theory, the answer would have to be a no. To me the idea of an internal
drive is far too simplistic and is way too easy to answer everything. As I have grown older two
things have remained constant with me: nothing is ever simple and there are no black and white
only light and dark shades of gray. Freud did not believe in a strong accountable mind, that the
real self was the Id, a disgusting monster who needed to be monitored, and that monitoring this
creature lead to conflict for the psychoanalyst to resolve (Freud, 1989). That leaves no room for
willpower and leaves no room for real accountability, and to me that is complete nonsense. We
are all human beings whose minds are infinitely complex and I do not presume to know the
answer, however I do believe that it is not that simple and I do not see these questions being
answered in my life time. I do give Freud credit though for at least coming up with an answer to
an unresolved question, and one that was founded in philosophy and that does seem to answer

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the actions of humanity. In defense of Freud this is an interesting theory and one that I probably
could back from a philosophical and potentially religious basis, but I do not believe it to hold the
answers to humanitys actions and societal interactions.
Psychoanalysis is often ridiculed by modern psychologists and it is not hard to see why.
When looking at Freuds theories on childhood development, his answers for mental disorders,
and his methods of therapy it is not hard to see why Freud and psychoanalysis have become
almost a joke in the field of psychology. Now while Freuds theories are questionable at best and
ridiculous at worst, I truly feel that Freud took a step in the right direction in regards to his theory
of Thanatos and Eros. The interaction between these two drives makes sense not only from a
philosophical and a historical point of view, but it can also be seen to be applicable from a
modern perspective. Freud is often ridiculed and not without reason, but I feel that he truly is
significant in some of his theories and his impact on the history of psychology and the history of
the world itself.

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Reference Page
Bunnin, N., & Yu, J. (2004). Eros (freud). In Blackwell Reference Online. Retrieved April 29,
2013, from http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?
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Winter, L. (2011, February 28). Explaining thanatos: The death drive. In Thoughts from the
middle Seat. Retrieved April 29, 2013, from
http://thoughtsfromthemiddleseat.com/2011/02/28/explaining-thanatos-the-death-drive/

Freud, S., Gay, P., & Strachey, J. (1959). Beyond the pleasure principle (pp. 46-69). Liveright,
NY: Bantam Books.

Choy, H., & Taylor, R. L. (2005). Taijitu. In The illustrated encyclopedia of Confucianism (Vol.
2, p. 869).

Stevenson, R. L. (1991). The strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde. Roslyn, NY: Dover
Publications Inc.

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Bunnin, N., & Yu, J. (2004). Thanatos. In Blackwell Reference Online. Retrieved April 29, 2013,
from
http://www.blackwellreference.com/public/tocnode?
query=thanatos&widen=1&result_number=1&from=search&id=g9781405106795_chunk_g9781
40510679521_ss1-27&type=std&fuzzy=0&slop=1

Gay, P. (1988). Freud: A life for our time (pp. 30-87). London, NY: Norton.

Freud, S. (1989). The ego and the id (pp. 11-22). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.

Freud, S., & Rivers, J. (1950). Collected papers of sigmund freud (Vol. 5, pp. 163-174).
Manhatten, NY: Hogarth Press and The Institute of Psychoanalysis..

Cohen, Baruch C. "The ethics of using medical data from nazi experiments." Jewish Virtual
Library. Ed. Elie B. Release. N.p., 2012. Web. 1 May 2013.
<http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/naziexp.html>.

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