Damien Broderick wrote:
> At 10:27 PM 29/01/00 -0500, Bob Owen wrote:
>
> >In all these cases, Freud observed that invariably "death" was
> >eroticized.
>
> Yes, but wouldn't it be true to say that, by hypothesis, Freud observed
> that *everything human* was eroticized?
Hello Damien,
Your question goes to the heart of Freudian "Metaphysics" and
deserves a correspondingly substantial answer.
My inclination is to invite any member who is truly expert on
Freudian theory to make this effort. The Eros-Thanatos scheme
was a relatively late development in his thinking and probably
reflects the influence of both Schopenhauer and Nietzsche.
I will restrict myself here to one observation, and wait a bit
to see if someone else might not do a much better job than
I can in addressing your subtle question.
In terms of this later theory, "everything human" is to some
relative degree both "eroticised" and "thanatized"; the crucial
factor in any case would be an "E/T Ratio". I add only that
the "Thanatotic" wish was an extension of his earlier theory
of aggression. Presumably the most mature level of develop-
ment, the "Genital", resolves the "polymorphously perverse"
confusion of these trends during the "Anal" sadomasochistic
phase. Parenthetically , keep in mind his concept of defensive
"sublimation" in which process any drive or wish is "civilized".
Bob
=======================
Robert M. Owen
Director
The Orion Institute
57 W. Morgan Street
Brevard, NC 28712-3659 USA
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