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EROS AND THANATOS
The previous discussion emphasized the concept of narcissism according to Freud’s theory on the ego instincts and the sexual instincts. This discussion illustrates how Freud’s initial theory developed into the theory of Eros and Thanatos, the life and death instincts. The author also refers to Freud’s theory on melancholia to illustrate the process of identifying with an aggressor. Freud calls the instincts directed at self preservation and the preservation of the species Eros, as opposed to the death and destruction instincts which he later calls Thanatos. The destructive instincts usually operates in silence. Eros and the destructive instincts are forever in conflict with each other.
He explains that an instinct is an impulse directed towards the recovery of a situation as it was before, thereby attianing homeostasis. This essentially conservative character of instincts is represented by the compulsion to repeat. In New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis: Freud discusses the compulsion to repeat: « We may suppose that from the moment at which a state of things that has once been attained is upset, an instinct arises to create it afresh and brings about phenomena which we can describe as a ‘con1pulsion to repeat’ … There are people in whose lives the san1e reactions are perpetually being repeated uncorrected, to their own detriment or others who seen1 to be pursued by a relentless fate, though closer investigation teaches us that they are unwittingly bringing this fate on then1selves. In such cases we attribute a daemonic character to the compulsion to repeat. » (1933:106)In Inhibitions. Symptoms and Anxiety, (1926: 125) he explains that instinctive impulses consist of various proportions of both of the two main groups of instincts (Eros and the destructive instincts).
In Civilization and its Discontents Freud discusses the death instinct. He mentions that besides Eros – the life instinct – there is another instinct that attempts to dissolve units and to revert them to their primarily inorganic state. The activities of the death instinct operate in silence and are not easily observable:
»A more fruitful idea was that a portion of the instinct is diverted towards the external world and comes to light as an instinct of aggressiveness and destructiveness. In this way the instinct itself could be pressed into the service of Eros, in that the organism was destroying some other thing, whether animate or inaninzate, instead of destroying its own self Conversely, any restriction of this aggressiveness directed outwards would be bound to increase self-destruction, which is in any case proceeding. At the same time one can suspect from this example that the two kinds of instinct seldom -perhaps never – appear in isolation from each other, but are alloyed with each other in varying and ve1y different proportions and so beconze unrecognizable to our judgement.
In sadisnz, long since known to us as a component instinct of sexuality; we should have before us a particularly strong alloy of this kind between trends of love and the destructive instinct … » (1930: 119)
SYMPTOMS AND FANTASIES
The author selected two short quotations of Freud to define symptoms and to illustrate the difference between neuroses and perversion. Perversion is fantasies acted out directly, while symptoms develop when threatening fantasies are repressed. Freud describes symptoms as follows:
» … symptoms are substitutes- transcriptions as it were -from a number of emotionally cathected mental processes, wishes and desires, which, by the operation of a special psychical procedure (repression), have been prevented from obtaining discharge in psychical activity that is admissible to consciousness. » (1905:164)
REPRESSION
In the previous selections reference has often been made to repression. The author would like to draw the reader’s attention to the role that anxiety plays in repression. In On the history of the Psycho-Analytic movement, Papers on Metapsychology and Other Works (1914- 1916) Freud devotes a chapter to repression (1915).
One of the changes that an instinctive impulse can undergo is to meet with an obstacle, which prevents the impulse from becoming operative. Freud explains that repression is a preliminary condition for condemnation. (Condemnation is when something is rejected on the grounds of disapproval, while flight is the reaction to some external threatening force.) According to Freud, repression lies between flight and condemnation. He explains that the reason why an instinctive impulse is repressed is because the acting out thereof would cause displeasure rather than pleasure. He admits however that the gratification of an instinct is always experienced as pleasure. Certain circumstances must however be present which influence the subject to experience the gratification of the impulse as displeasure.
Freud makes the following statement in this regard:
« … repression is not a defense nzechanisnz which is present from the very beginning, and it cannot arise until a sha1p cleavage has occurred between conscious and unconscious mental activity … » (1915:147)
1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM AND GOAL OF THE RESEARCH
1.2 DESCRIPTION OF SERIAL KILLERS
1.2.1 Definitions of serial killers
1.2.2 Classification of serial killers
1.2.3 Characteristics of serial killers
1.3 SUMMARY
CHAPTER2: REVIEW AND LIMITATIONS OF PAST RESEARCH
2.2 THEORIES ON THE ORIGIN OF SERIAL KILLERS
2.2.1 Socio-cultural theories
2.2.2 Ressler’s motivational model
2.2.2.1 Ineffective social environment
2.2.2.2 Formative years
2.2.2.3 Patterned responses
2.2.2.4 Action towards others
2.2.2.5 Feedback filter
2.2.3 Systemic theories
2.2.4 Demonic possession
2.2.5 Neurological theories
2.2.6 Psychopathological theories
2.2.6.1 Schizophrenia
2.2.6.2 Schizoid personality disorder
2.2.6.3 Schizotypical personality disorder
2.2.6.4 Anti social personality disorder
2.2.6.5 Paraphilias
2.2.6.6 Dissociative disorders
2.2.6.7 Normality
2.2. 7 Fantasy
2.3 SUMMARY
3 CHAPTER3: PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORIES
3.1 INTRODUCTION
3.2 THE THEORIES OF SIGMUND FREUD
3.2.1 ID, EGO AND SUPEREGO
3.2.1.1 The id
3.2.1.2 The ego
3.2.1.3 The superego
3.2.2 DEVELOPMENTAL PHASES
3.2.2.1 Pre-genital phases
3.2.2.2 Latency phase
3.2.2.3 Genital phase
3.2.3 THE SEXUAL THEORIES OF CHILDREN
3.2.3.1 Female penis
3.2.3.2 Baby equals faeces
3.2.3.3 Coitus equals aggression
3.2.3.4 Considered in isolation
3.2.3.5 Compulsion to repeat
3.2.4 EGO INSTINCTS AND LIBIDO INSTINCTS
3.2.5 EROS AND THANATOS
3.2.6 SYMPTOMS AND FANTASIES
3.2.7 REPRESSION
3.2.8 OBSESSIVE NEUROSIS
3.2.9 SADISM AND MASOCHISM
3.3 THE THEORIES OF MELANIE KLEIN
3.3.1 THE ORAL, URETHRAL AND ANAL PHASES
3.3.1.1 The oral phase
3.3.1.2 The urethral phase
3.3.1.3 The anal phase
3.3.2 THE PHALLIC PHASE
3.3.2.1 Object relationships
3.3.2.2 Masturbation fantasies
3.3.2.3 Superego
3.3.3 THE LATENCY PHASE
3.4 SUMMARY
4 CHAPTER4: STATEMENTS OF THE THESIS
4.1 INTRODUCTION
4.2 STATEMENTS
4.3 SUMMARY
5 CHAPTERS: RATIONAL AND METHOD OF RESEARCH
5.1 RATIONAL
5.2 METHOD OF RESEARCH
5.2.1 Introduction
5.2.2 Research design
5.2.2.1 The general question
5.2.2.2 The generalization of the answer
5.2.2.3 Multiple case studies
5.2.2.4 Multiple data sources
5.2.3 Data gathering
5.2.4 Data analysis
5.2.5 Data integration
5.2.6 Criteria for judging the quality of the research design
5.2.6.1 Construct validity
5.2.6.2 Internal validity
5.2.6.3 External validity
5.2.6.4 Reliability
5.3 SUMMARY
6 CHAPTER6: CASE STUDY 1
7 CHAPTER 7: CASE STUDY2
8 CHAPTER 8: INTEGRATION AND CONCLUSION
