After Dinner Freud – Question #65

What is the libido?


In three famous 1905 essays on sexuality, Freud presented his theory of how our conscious lives are ruled by instincts of which most people remain unconscious. Grounded in a Darwinian perspective, Freud’s theory proposed that we begin life instinctively intent on self-preservation and reproduction. Freud dubbed the force or energy that represents these instincts in the mind “libido.” In essence, the libido is Eros, or love in its sexual and Platonic manifestations.
The libido is involved in a continual battle with aggression, hate, and hostility. It is susceptible to distortion, perversion, blockage, and fixation at all stages of life. A suppressed libido will attempt to find alternative means of expression.

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