The Two Freudian Concepts of Trieb

Abstract

The meaning and translation of "Trieb" (drive, instinct) are discussed and the concepts of sexual drives, self-preservation drives, life drives and death drive, in Freud, are analyzed. It is shown that the two Freudian theories of the drives use quite different concepts regarding what a drive is. In the first, the concept is defined in terms of source, pressure, object and aim, which are not applicable to the concept of the second. The latter does not fully replace the former, but includes it. After 1920, the same terms (drive, sexual, libido) are employed in different senses, which generates confusion.

drive; instinct; Freud; metapsychology