Beyond the Pleasure Principle
by Sigmund Freud · Jenseits des Lustprinzips
Assigned by 2 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 1920
- Form
- Psychology
- Language
- German
- Length
- Short · 80 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendBeyond the Pleasure Principle, translated by James StracheyW. W. Norton, 1990The Standard Edition text in a slim volume with Strachey's editorial notes.
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A short speculative essay in which Freud revises his theory of the mind. Observing that shell-shocked soldiers and a small child playing with a spool (the fort-da game) repeat painful experiences rather than avoid them, he posits a compulsion to repeat that lies beyond the pleasure principle. From it he derives the death drive, an urge in all living matter to return to an inanimate state, set against the life drives of Eros.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Beyond the Pleasure Principle are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.
