Destrudo

Destrudo is a term introduced by Italian psychoanalyst Edoardo Weiss in 1935 to denote the energy of the death instinct, on the analogy of libidoInternational Journal of Psycho-Analysis (1953) Vol 23 p. 74 — and thus to cover the energy of the destructive impulse in Freudian psychology.
==Aggression==
Destrudo is the opposite of libido — the urge to create, an energy that arises from the Eros (or "life") drive — and is the urge to destroy arising from Thanatos ("death"), and thus an aspect of what Sigmund Freud termed “the aggressive instincts, whose aim is destruction”.Sigmund Freud, New Introductory Lectures in Psychoanalysis (London 1991), p. 136
Weiss related aggression/destrudo to secondary narcissism, something generally only described in terms of the libido turning towards the self.Herbert A. Rosenfeld, Impasse and Interpretation (1987) p. 126
==Nomenclature==
Whereas Freud himself never named the aggressive and destructive energy of the death drive (as he had done with the life drive, "libido"), the next generation of psychoanalysts vied to find suitable names for it. Paul Federn used the term mortido for the new energy source,Eric Berne, A Layman's Guide to Psychiatry and Psychoanalysis (Middlesex 1976) p. 101 and has generally been followed in that by other analytic writers.J. G. Watkins, The Therapeutic Self (1978) p. 142 His disciple and collaborator Weiss, however, chose destrudo; and it was this term that was later taken up by Charles Brenner.Todd Dufresne, Tales from the Freudian Crypt (2000) p. 24
==Cultural applications==
Literary criticism has been almost more prepared than psychoanalysis to make at least metaphorical use of the term 'Destrudo'. Artistic images were seen by Joseph Campbell in terms of “incestuous 'libido' and patricidal 'destrudo'”;Quoted in Margery Hourihan, Deconstructing the Hero (1994) p. 22 while literary descriptions of the conflict between destrudo and libidoM. Beugnet/M. Schmid, Proust at the Movies (2004) p. 194 are still fairly widespread in the 21st century.Andrew Gibson, Beckett and Badiou (2006) p. 255 
'Destrudo' as an evocative name also appears in rock musicMetal Nation and video games.Destrudo-questions
==See also==
*Aggression
*Group conflict
==References==
==Further reading==
* Edoardo Weiss, Principles of Psychodynamics (New York 1950)
==External links==
* Bernard Golse, "Destrudo"
Category:Freudian psychology
Category:Psychoanalysis
Category:Energy and instincts