conflict between life and death, and names these urges Eros after the Greek God of Love, representing life energy and the life instinct, and Thanatos after the Greek God of Death, representing death energy and the death instinct. While writings are in German, Stekel’s Lothane translates a portion of a dream analysis in which Stekel refers to these concepts: Just as in the dream there is generally no negation, there is similarly no negation of life. Dying in dreams most often means living and it is precisely the highest that finds its expression in a death life’s pleasures such ideas were reportedly spoken of by poets and philosophers, wish… too, have repeatedly highlighted these connections between Eros and Thanatos. (Lothane 278) Lothane also provides us with an excerpt from essay in which she quotes Spielrein’s perspective on Eros and Thanatos (though again the terms are not used directly): Jung’s The passionate yearning, i.e., the libido, has two sides: the power that beautifies all and one that on the destructive nature of occasion destroys… the creative To become generative means to destroy oneself, power… since the becoming of the next generation means that the preceding one has reached its peak: In this way our descendants are our most dangerous enemies, with whom one cannot The anxiety over the erotic fate is cope… understandable, for there is something unforeseen in He who it… renounces the courage to experience, must stifle in himself the wish to commit a kind of suicide. This explains why death fantasies readily accompany erotic wishes. (Lothane 278-279)
conflict between life and death, and names these urges Eros after the Greek God of Love, representing life energy and the life instinct, and Thanatos after the Greek God of Death, representing death energy and the death instinct. While Stekel’s writings are in German, Lothane translates a portion of a dream analysis in which Stekel refers to these concepts: Just as in the dream there is generally no negation, there is similarly no negation of life. Dying in dreams most often means living and it is precisely the highest life’s pleasures that finds its expression in a death wish… such ideas were reportedly spoken of by poets and philosophers, too, have repeatedly highlighted these connections between Eros and Thanatos. (Lothane 278) Lothane also provides us with an excerpt from Spielrein’s essay in which she quotes Jung’s perspective on Eros and Thanatos (though again the terms are not used directly): The passionate yearning, i.e., the libido, has two sides: the power that beautifies all and one that on occasion destroys… the destructive nature of the creative power… To become generative means to destroy oneself, since the becoming of the next generation means that the preceding one has reached its peak: In this way our descendants are our most dangerous enemies, with whom one cannot cope… The anxiety over the erotic fate is understandable, for there is something unforeseen in it… He who renounces the courage to experience, must stifle in himself the wish to commit a kind of suicide. This explains why death fantasies readily accompany erotic wishes. (Lothane 278-279)