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Beyond the Pleasure Principle: A speculative essay on Freud

Beyond the Pleasure Principle: A speculative essay on Freud The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 49, No. 4, 1989 BEYOND THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE: A SPECULATIVE ESSAY ON FREUD Brayton Polka DEATH AS THE END OF THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE Beyond the Pleasure Principle, 1 published in 1920, is an altogether extraor- dinary work that, with its amazing twists and turns, is by no means easy to follow or to comprehend. In viewing his essay in frankly speculative terms, Freud undertakes to advance his theory of psychoanalysis into new domains of the mental processes, while having no intention of giving up his earlier findings. We shall find, however, that his claim to go beyond the pleasure principle not only threatens but even compromises and ultimately undermines, if not his earlier insights into the depths of the human psyche, at least the speculative principles in terms of how they are formulated. The extraordinary thing is that, while Freud presupposes his work of the previous twenty-five years in writing Beyond the Pleasure Principle, the essay puts in jeopardy not merely the conceptual coherence but even the validity of that prior work. Freud now finds that the dualism between the pleasure principle and the reality principle, in terms of which he had come http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The American Journal of Psychoanalysis Springer Journals

Beyond the Pleasure Principle: A speculative essay on Freud

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis , Volume 49 (4): 13 – Dec 1, 1989

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References (4)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
1989 Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis
ISSN
0002-9548
eISSN
1573-6741
DOI
10.1007/BF01252258
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, Vol. 49, No. 4, 1989 BEYOND THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE: A SPECULATIVE ESSAY ON FREUD Brayton Polka DEATH AS THE END OF THE PLEASURE PRINCIPLE Beyond the Pleasure Principle, 1 published in 1920, is an altogether extraor- dinary work that, with its amazing twists and turns, is by no means easy to follow or to comprehend. In viewing his essay in frankly speculative terms, Freud undertakes to advance his theory of psychoanalysis into new domains of the mental processes, while having no intention of giving up his earlier findings. We shall find, however, that his claim to go beyond the pleasure principle not only threatens but even compromises and ultimately undermines, if not his earlier insights into the depths of the human psyche, at least the speculative principles in terms of how they are formulated. The extraordinary thing is that, while Freud presupposes his work of the previous twenty-five years in writing Beyond the Pleasure Principle, the essay puts in jeopardy not merely the conceptual coherence but even the validity of that prior work. Freud now finds that the dualism between the pleasure principle and the reality principle, in terms of which he had come

Journal

The American Journal of PsychoanalysisSpringer Journals

Published: Dec 1, 1989

Keywords: Clinical Psychology; Psychotherapy; Psychoanalysis

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