ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study is to examine the nature of the death drive, Freud’s discovery of a death drive at the heart of mental functioning, and the distinction between life and death drives. We are specifically interested in how previous research investigated Freud’s dualistic view of life and death drives, Freud’s formulation of the role and function of the death drive, and death’s fundamental effect on life. pp. 134–139

Keywords: Freud, death drive, mental functioning, psyche