Thanatos (Freud)

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In psychoanalytical theory, Thanatos is the death instinct, which opposes Eros. The concept of the "death instinct" was identified by Sigmund Freud. For Freud, Thanatos (although he himself never used this term) signals a desire to give up the struggle of life and return to quiescence and the grave. This should not be confused with the concept destrudo, which is the energy of the destructive impulse (the opposite of libido).

Thanatos is named after the Greek word for "death" (θάνατος). In Greek mythology, Thanatos was the personification of death, whose Roman equivalent was Mors. He was a creature of bone-chilling darkness. He was a son of Nyx ("night") and twin of Hypnos ("sleep").

[edit] See also

• Libido

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