Drive theory and the metapsychology of experience

This paper begins by examining the current conflicting points of view about metapsychology--its status, usefulness and explanatory power. The drive concept, the source of psychic dynamism, is identified at the core of the controversy. As a solution, the paper proposes a conceptual intensification afforded by the integration of consciousness into Freud's theory of the drive. With consciousness, I attempt to mine a deep vein of theory. Rather than being viewed as an inert accompaniment to organismic events, consciousness is exhibited as an inherent dialectical activity. This allows a non-metaphorical conceptualization of psychic energy that is consistent both internally and with physical law. This drive concept is then applied to the putative experience of earliest infancy and provides a basis for the anaclitic origin of sexuality and a critique of current infant research.