Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Concept Videos

Instinct Theory01:29

Instinct Theory

Instinct theory proposes that innate biological instincts, like animal behavioral patterns, primarily drive human behavior. These instincts are inborn, not learned, and are fundamental to decision-making and action. Just as animals rely on instincts for critical survival functions such as migration, nest building, and defense, humans are also believed to exhibit behaviors rooted in evolutionary needs. For example, the instinct to reproduce motivates sexual behavior, while territorial instincts...
Requirements for Human Life01:26

Requirements for Human Life

The Earth and its atmosphere have provided humans with air, water, and food, but these are not the only requirements for survival. Humans also require a specific range of temperature and pressure that the Earth and its atmosphere provides.
Oxygen
Atmospheric air is only about 20 percent oxygen, but that oxygen is a key component of the chemical reactions that keep the body alive, including the reactions that produce ATP. Brain cells are susceptible to a lack of oxygen because they require a...
Introduction to Learning01:18

Introduction to Learning

Learning is the process of acquiring knowledge or skills through practice or experience, leading to long-lasting behavioral changes. This acquisition occurs through interaction with the environment and requires practice or experience. For instance, mastering a skill such as surfing requires considerable practice and experience, highlighting the essential role of repeated interactions with the environment in learning.
In contrast to learned behaviors, unlearned behaviors such as crying, sexual...
Instinctive Drift01:05

Instinctive Drift

Instinctive drift refers to the tendency of animals to revert to their innate behaviors despite repeated reinforcement. Breland and Breland demonstrated this concept in an experiment with a raccoon. The raccoon was trained to pick up two coins and place them in a container in exchange for food. Initially, the raccoon learned to associate the coins with food, making them a conditioned stimulus or a substitute for food. However, over time, the raccoon became less willing to put the coins into the...
Personal Identity01:25

Personal Identity

Personal identity is the deeply felt sense of self that individuals cultivate over time, intricately woven from intrinsic qualities they consider essential to their existence—qualities such as morality, intelligence, and friendliness. These attributes serve as vital internal benchmarks, guiding individuals in evaluating whether their actions resonate with their true selves.When personal identity takes center stage in one's life, individuals often emphasize their distinctiveness, highlighting...
Characteristics of Life01:23

Characteristics of Life

Biology is a natural science that studies life and living organisms, including their structure, function, development, interactions, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. The field's scope is extensive and divided into several specialized disciplines, such as anatomy, physiology, ethology, genetics, and many more. All living things share a few key traits, including cellular organization, heritable genetic material and the ability to adapt/evolve, metabolism to regulate energy needs, the...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

What might be in so close that as psychoanalysts we miss it?

American journal of psychoanalysis·2023
Same author

Research: presentations from research advisory board funded projects.

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2002
Same journal

An Italian in the Indian jungle(re)locating Emilio Servadio in the history of psychoanalysis and India.

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2026
Same journal

Playing as a basic form of living: on Winnicott's "Playing: A Theoretical Statement".

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2026
Same journal

Unconscious affective communication in the formation and transformation of emerging subjectivity.

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2026
Same journal

Letter to the Editor: On D'Angelo's paper "Trans is not the new gay: How psychoanalytic elitism and the rejection of science are creating a repetition of the past".

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2026
Same journal

Letter in response to chairs of the American Psychoanalytic Association's Committee on Gender and Sexuality.

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2026
Same journal

A scholar of the human mind: Eugenio Gaddini.

The International journal of psycho-analysis·2026
See all related articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 8, 2026

A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae
04:51

A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae

Published on: July 8, 2025

The life instinct.

Nicola Abel-Hirsch1

  • 1Unit 13 Apollo Studios, Charlton Kings Road, London NW5 2SB, UK. abelhirsch@waitrose.com

The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis
|October 20, 2010
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Freud's life instinct, characterized by binding, is essential for life. Pathological forms arise when instincts are separated, leading to overwhelming anxiety from unchecked proliferation.

More Related Videos

In Vivo Biosensor Tracks Non-apoptotic Caspase Activity in Drosophila
13:21

In Vivo Biosensor Tracks Non-apoptotic Caspase Activity in Drosophila

Published on: November 27, 2016

Live-cell Imaging of Sensory Organ Precursor Cells in Intact Drosophila Pupae
04:27

Live-cell Imaging of Sensory Organ Precursor Cells in Intact Drosophila Pupae

Published on: May 27, 2011

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 8, 2026

A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae
04:51

A Modified Mirror Test as a Visual Guide for the Self-awareness Trait in Wild Antarctica Penguins, Pygoscelis adeliae

Published on: July 8, 2025

In Vivo Biosensor Tracks Non-apoptotic Caspase Activity in Drosophila
13:21

In Vivo Biosensor Tracks Non-apoptotic Caspase Activity in Drosophila

Published on: November 27, 2016

Live-cell Imaging of Sensory Organ Precursor Cells in Intact Drosophila Pupae
04:27

Live-cell Imaging of Sensory Organ Precursor Cells in Intact Drosophila Pupae

Published on: May 27, 2011

Area of Science:

  • Psychoanalytic theory
  • Psychology
  • Psychodynamic theory

Background:

  • Oversimplified interpretations of Freud's life and death instincts often portray them as "good" vs. "bad".
  • Freud emphasized the essential and concurrent action of both instincts for life phenomena.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine Freud's conceptualization of the life instinct in detail.
  • To elaborate on Freud's view of binding as the life instinct's key characteristic, using Bion's work on linking.
  • To explore pathological variations of the life instinct.

Main Methods:

  • Detailed analysis of Freud's concept of the life instinct.
  • Integration of Bion's theories on "linking".
  • Clinical case illustration of pathological life instinct manifestation.

Main Results:

  • Binding is identified as the central characteristic of the life instinct.
  • Pathological forms of both life and death instincts can occur when they are "defused" or separated.
  • A pathological variation of the life instinct involves binding without the limiting influence of the death instinct.

Conclusions:

  • Freud's instincts are mutually essential; separation leads to pathology.
  • Unchecked binding, a pathological life instinct, can manifest as overwhelming anxiety in patients.
  • Understanding instinctual dynamics is crucial for clinical psychoanalysis.