Eros and Thanatos are two of the most fundamental concepts in Western thought. Eros is the Greek god of love, while Thanatos is the god of death. These two forces are often seen as opposites, but they are also inextricably linked.
Eros represents the life instinct, the drive to survive and reproduce. It is the force that motivates us to seek out pleasure, connection, and intimacy. Thanatos represents the death instinct, the drive to return to the inorganic state. It is the force that motivates us to withdraw from the world, to seek out pain and destruction.
In his book Beyond the Pleasure Principle, Sigmund Freud argued that Eros and Thanatos are the two fundamental drives that shape human behavior. He believed that these two drives are always in conflict and that the way we manage this conflict determines our individual psychology.
These primal forces, drawn from ancient Greek mythology, offer insightful perspectives on the nature of love and its interplay with life and death.
The Greek gods Eros and Thanatos represent the forces of love and death, respectively. In the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, these two forces are seen as inextricably linked. Love, for Nietzsche, is not simply a sentimental emotion, but a powerful drive that can lead to both creation and destruction.
In his book The Birth of Tragedy, Nietzsche argues that the Greeks understood the relationship between Eros and Thanatos more fully than we do. He sees the tragic hero as a figure who is torn between these two forces. The hero is driven by a desire for life and love, but he is also aware of the inevitability of death. This tension between Eros and Thanatos is what gives tragedy its power.
In his later work, Nietzsche continues to explore the relationship between love and death. In The Gay Science, he writes that “love may be the most ingenuous expression of egoism.” He suggests that love is often motivated by a desire to possess or control the other person. This desire for possession can lead to jealousy, possessiveness, and even violence.
People who are dominated by Eros are driven by a desire for life, love, and pleasure. They are often outgoing, optimistic, and creative. People who are dominated by Thanatos are driven by a desire for death, destruction, and pain. They are often withdrawn, pessimistic, and destructive.
Most people fall somewhere in between these two extremes. We all have a need for both life and death, for love and destruction. The key is to find a balance between these two forces.
The ancient Greeks understood the importance of balance between Eros and Thanatos. They believed that these two forces were necessary for the world to function correctly. The god Eros was responsible for creating new life, while the god Thanatos was responsible for taking it away. Without both of these forces, the world would be out of balance.
Critics of the Thanatos and Eros concept in modern psychology
While Freud’s theory of Thanatos and Eros has been influential in psychology, it has also received criticism from some modern psychologists.
One of the main criticisms is that the theory is too simplistic and reductionistic, as it reduces complex human behaviors and motivations to two primary drives. Critics argue that human behavior is far more complex and cannot be fully understood by such a binary model.
Another criticism is that the concept of Thanatos, or the death drive, lacks empirical support. While Freud’s theory was based on his clinical observations, the idea of a self-destructive drive has not been supported by empirical research.
But what do we know, we are not as smart as the Greeks anymore at that time.