Why Freud's Death Drive signifies More Than Destruction: A Review of the Black Panther Party and Radical Social Change
Essay 1
Why Freud's Death Drive signifies More Than Destruction: A Review of the Black Panther Party and Radical Social Change
Course Name: The Political Significance of Freud's Legacy
Course Code:
Date: 28 January 2022
Word Count: 2106
Freud's theory of the death drive is one of the critical explanations of human behaviour. In this theory, Freud argues that the ultimate human motive is death, which is why they sometimes become aggressive to others to speed up their death. He specifically called it the "drive towards death and destruction" in the manner that the aim of life is death. Therefore, humans live to this single motive, knowing that at the end of all achievements in life, their ultimate occurrence is their death. According to Freud, people can channel their death either outwards or inwards. The inwards desire for death makes people have suicidal thoughts, while the outward desire makes them aggressive to others in a manner that could harm them. Freud did not just imagine the theory, but it came out due to several clinical observations. One of the critical aspects of his argument is that people tend to reconstruct their traumatic experiences, which play a more crucial role in their suicidal thoughts. It occurs in this manner, since these individuals reenact this experience. His idea plays a more crucial role in the way humans think of themselves and others. It occurs in this manner, as it helps understand the level of destructiveness a person may get into in their contemplation of death. Therefore, Sigmund Freud's theory is only about destructiveness and plays a more crucial role in thinking of radical change.
Despite sustained civil rights efforts, global societies continue to experience increased social injustices. As evidenced by religious, racial, and sexual persecution of minorities, global societies continue to experience increased social injustices. Moreover, there appears to be a persistent effort towards demeaning the concept of equality. These circumstances were one of the reasons for which radical groups, such as the Black Panthers Party (BPP), emerged in 1966. The BPP's lifespan was relatively short. However, the impact of their work was defined by the emergence of a revolutionary spirit in parts of the Black community. One highlight of the party was the use of violence that emerged from its operations and the state's efforts to control the group. The life of the BPP arguably is in line with Sigmund Freud's idea that violence is intrinsic to human life. According to Freud, the death drive forces human beings to drive towards a quest for destruction. Freud presents an unconventional view of death as the ultimate form of pleasure because it is a state defined by the absence of any form of suffering. However, a deeper reading of the nature of the death drive within the context of the BPP suggests that the death drive is not only about destruction. Instead, the death drive appears intrinsically connected to the radical processes that trigger the desired change, leading to personal pleasure.
The drive for death suggests an intrinsic and insurmountable tendency to death and destruction from a psychoanalytic perspective. As Frank ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"TNuMmcMm","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Frank, 2015)","plainCitation":"(Frank, 2015)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":107,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/A7PI4EZX"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/A7PI4EZX"],"itemData":{"id":107,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"The International Journal of Psychoanalysis","issue":"2","note":"publisher: Taylor & Francis","page":"425444","source":"Google Scholar","title":"On the reception of the concept of the death drive in Germany: Expressing and resisting an evil principle?","title-short":"On the reception of the concept of the death drive in Germany","volume":"96","author":[{"family":"Frank","given":"Claudia"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (2015) defines, the death drive is a force that exists for people whose goal is to lead to the lowest possible tension. Typically, the state of death is understood to present the least likely physical pressure. According to research, the phenomenon of death drive manifests within the individual, manifests itself outside through disruptive behaviour and instincts such as violence (Kernberg, 2009). Notable, as defined by Freud, the death drive exists as the drive contradicting ideas such as the life instinct, which seeks to perpetuate life.
In the present context, one could view the emergence of such violent groups as the BPP as a manifestation of the death drive. Specifically, the black community has been the subject of oppression for a long time due to the ideologies of the white community. One would argue that the formation of groups such as the BPP is inspired by a long-standing struggle, where minority communities such as African Americans are placed under immense pressure and suffering. For instance, the BPP's ten-point manifesto appeared to decry the exploitation of its community for causes that produce minimal returns ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"sYyv59V1","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Black, 2001)","plainCitation":"(Black, 2001)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":42,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/I6ZKYW3V"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/I6ZKYW3V"],"itemData":{"id":42,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"British Journal of Psychotherapy","issue":"2","note":"publisher: Wiley Online Library","page":"185198","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Mapping a Detour: Why did Freud Speak of a Death Drive? 1","title-short":"Mapping a Detour","volume":"18","author":[{"family":"Black","given":"David M."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2001"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Black, 2001). Faced with the reality that either the black community would continue to suffer under the subjugation of the white community, or they could take the risks of what could be considered an armed revolution, the founders of the BPP decided to take action. In this manner, the emergence of the BPP and its unique ideas follow in the death ride's constructs, which seeks relief from physical pressure using all aggressive methods available.
Furthermore, the rise of the BPP and its aggressive ideals fulfil the Freudian idea, forcing all people in society to fight actively for the fulfilment of the pleasure instinct. One of the principles at the heart of the death drive is that people are innately tuned to the opposite circumstances that exploit and deny them pleasure. The emergence of the BPP follows this narrative because its formation resulted from a systemic attempt to imprison an entire community in poverty and injustice. For example, the history of the BPP would indicate that the party formed due to the absence of adequate formal bargaining platforms through which the African American community could relay its concerns ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"NPIaPuBn","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Kirkby, 2011)","plainCitation":"(Kirkby, 2011)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":51,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/FMEFDB32"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/FMEFDB32"],"itemData":{"id":51,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Canadian Review of American Studies","issue":"1","note":"publisher: University of Toronto Press Incorporated","page":"2562","source":"Google Scholar","title":"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Community Activism and the Black Panther Party, 19661971","title-short":"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised","volume":"41","author":[{"family":"Kirkby","given":"Ryan J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Kirkby, 2011). This lack of a reasonable way to address the Black community's injustices left violent aggression as the only avenue through which the affected people could demonstrate their frustrations.
In all respects, the suicidal nature of the BPP's political methods provides a practical illustration of the unstoppable desire towards destruction as encapsulated in Freud's thinking. Confronted with persistent economic and social inequality, the BPP rose from the African American community, a group willing to pay the ultimate price. For instance, BPP founder Huey P. Newton came up with the idea of bearing arms and conducting what he termed laying witness to the injustices of the law enforcement system. In early 1967, the group was recorded as having congregated at the California state assembly armed with guns ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"hcge9KaY","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Slate, 2012)","plainCitation":"(Slate, 2012)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":85,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/SKAI5IBR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/SKAI5IBR"],"itemData":{"id":85,"type":"book","publisher":"Springer","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Black Power beyond borders: The global dimensions of the Black Power movement","title-short":"Black Power beyond borders","author":[{"family":"Slate","given":"Nico"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Slate, 2012). The BPP's actions were highly dynamic and triggered a strong-armed government response. For example, a unique agency under the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was formed to lead operations designed to sabotage the organization's activities. In 1969, law enforcement officers shot known BPP leader Fred Hampton, who was shot while overseeing one of the BPP's social programs ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"xgyxSwRM","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Courtney, 1969; Garrow, 2007)","plainCitation":"(Courtney, 1969; Garrow, 2007)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":55,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/TXFWUKTZ"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/TXFWUKTZ"],"itemData":{"id":55,"type":"book","publisher":"Conservative Society of America","source":"Google Scholar","title":"The Black Panthers: Are These Cats Red?: an Expos of a Communist Front which is Engaging in Guerrilla Warfare Against High Schools and Universities","title-short":"The Black Panthers","author":[{"family":"Courtney","given":"Kent"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1969"]]}}},{"id":97,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/BHAZ9XMP"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/BHAZ9XMP"],"itemData":{"id":97,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Reviews in American History","issue":"4","note":"publisher: JSTOR","page":"650670","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Picking up the books: the new historiography of the Black Panther Party","title-short":"Picking up the books","volume":"35","author":[{"family":"Garrow","given":"David J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2007"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Courtney, 1969; Garrow, 2007). Overall, the events accompanying the BPP's formation and operations provide a vigorous defence of Freud's idea that destruction and violence are intrinsically connected to human nature.
Despite the strong indications that the death drive infers an inevitable march towards destruction, a deeper reading of the concept suggests it does not always signify the despair typically inferred from the idea. An in-depth analysis of Freud's idea of death drives points to an often ignored aspect of the concept in the form of a paradoxical link between life and death ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"SAfrlFcI","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Armengou, 2009)","plainCitation":"(Armengou, 2009)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":6,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/MPKXXQML"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/MPKXXQML"],"itemData":{"id":6,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"The International Journal of Psychoanalysis","issue":"2","note":"publisher: Taylor & Francis","page":"263289","source":"Google Scholar","title":"The death drive: Conceptual analysis and relevance in the Spanish psychoanalytic community","title-short":"The death drive","volume":"90","author":[{"family":"Armengou","given":"Frank Garca-Castrilln"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Armengou, 2009). More specifically, the radicalism that defines the death drive takes a broader meaning than a traditional psychoanalytic analysis would reveal ( ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"jHJTbFLI","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Bell, 2015)","plainCitation":"(Bell, 2015)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":39,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/URJS52SG"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/URJS52SG"],"itemData":{"id":39,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"The International Journal of Psychoanalysis","issue":"2","note":"publisher: Taylor & Francis","page":"411423","source":"Google Scholar","title":"The death drive: Phenomenological perspectives in contemporary Kleinian theory","title-short":"The death drive","volume":"96","author":[{"family":"Bell","given":"David L."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Bell, 2015). This alternative reading of Freud's death drive compels one to conceptualize the idea of death from a figurative perspective, where death is viewed as the headstrong pursuit of peace and pleasure ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"dVrZe518","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Razinsky, 2010)","plainCitation":"(Razinsky, 2010)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":80,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/EQ83Q9YC"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/EQ83Q9YC"],"itemData":{"id":80,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"The Psychoanalytic Review","issue":"3","note":"publisher: Guilford Press","page":"393424","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Driving death away: Death and Freud's theory of the death drive","title-short":"Driving death away","volume":"97","author":[{"family":"Razinsky","given":"Liran"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Razinsky, 2010). This unique view of the death drive then views the aggression and violence that define the death drive as a necessary means to the desired end. Therefore, the death drive could be described as an inherent aspiration that drives people towards aggression as a last resort in pursuing peace and pleasure.
In following the idea of the death drive as an aspiration rather than a physical phenomenon, it is possible to argue that the PBB sought to shape a narrative that would symbolize their resolve against the injustices in its society. One of the most remarkably defining traits of the BPP is its open revulsion towards symbols such as cultural nationalism, which was considered the key for Black liberation ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"u47BXhxs","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Armengou, 2009)","plainCitation":"(Armengou, 2009)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":6,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/MPKXXQML"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/MPKXXQML"],"itemData":{"id":6,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"The International Journal of Psychoanalysis","issue":"2","note":"publisher: Taylor & Francis","page":"263289","source":"Google Scholar","title":"The death drive: Conceptual analysis and relevance in the Spanish psychoanalytic community","title-short":"The death drive","volume":"90","author":[{"family":"Armengou","given":"Frank Garca-Castrilln"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2009"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Armengou, 2009). The BPP regarded these symbols as largely ineffective against the injustices perpetrated against the Black community in the name of capitalism. Indeed, American society at the time featured sufficient evidence to indicate that cultural symbols such as the Civil Rights movement had rendered little to address the issues affecting African Americans, such as poverty, impaired opportunities for social mobility, and police violence ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"hfNdHw1K","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Garrow, 2007; Street, 2010)","plainCitation":"(Garrow, 2007; Street, 2010)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":97,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/BHAZ9XMP"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/BHAZ9XMP"],"itemData":{"id":97,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Reviews in American History","issue":"4","note":"publisher: JSTOR","page":"650670","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Picking up the books: the new historiography of the Black Panther Party","title-short":"Picking up the books","volume":"35","author":[{"family":"Garrow","given":"David J."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2007"]]}}},{"id":93,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/DDIQUGWP"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/DDIQUGWP"],"itemData":{"id":93,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Journal of American Studies","issue":"2","note":"publisher: Cambridge University Press","page":"351375","source":"Google Scholar","title":"The historiography of the Black Panther party","volume":"44","author":[{"family":"Street","given":"Joe"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2010"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Garrow, 2007; Street, 2010). These facts provide further evidence linking the BPP's aggressive revolution to an attempt to reshape conversations surrounding racial and economic equality ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"buUteKZ5","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Phu, 2008)","plainCitation":"(Phu, 2008)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":72,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/49522CX4"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/49522CX4"],"itemData":{"id":72,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Canadian Review of American Studies","issue":"1","note":"publisher: University of Toronto Press","page":"165189","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Shooting the movement: Black Panther Party photography and African American protest traditions","title-short":"Shooting the movement","volume":"38","author":[{"family":"Phu","given":"Thy N."}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2008"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Phu, 2008). In sum, the BPP and its extreme methods helped formulate a new identity for African Americans beyond the one created by passive civil rights activists.
Another way through which the BPP illustrates the connection between the death drive and outcomes beyond destruction is that the party helped set the stage for civil conversations regarding racial justice and equality. There is little doubt that the existence of the BPP predominantly produced death and destruction. Indeed, the BPP succeeded in instigating a period of extreme violence, as seen in Huey P. Newton's killing of an Oakland law enforcement officer ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"FZenRset","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Courtney, 1969; Slate, 2012)","plainCitation":"(Courtney, 1969; Slate, 2012)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":55,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/TXFWUKTZ"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/TXFWUKTZ"],"itemData":{"id":55,"type":"book","publisher":"Conservative Society of America","source":"Google Scholar","title":"The Black Panthers: Are These Cats Red?: an Expos of a Communist Front which is Engaging in Guerrilla Warfare Against High Schools and Universities","title-short":"The Black Panthers","author":[{"family":"Courtney","given":"Kent"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["1969"]]}}},{"id":85,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/SKAI5IBR"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/SKAI5IBR"],"itemData":{"id":85,"type":"book","publisher":"Springer","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Black Power beyond borders: The global dimensions of the Black Power movement","title-short":"Black Power beyond borders","author":[{"family":"Slate","given":"Nico"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Courtney, 1969; Slate, 2012). However, excluding oneself from this single view would mean a simplistic reading of the party's events. In addition to its violence and destruction, the BPP and its followers helped illustrate what could become of the United States if the African community opted for a violent resolution of racial injustice ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"ocDdDQZG","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Phillips, 2015)","plainCitation":"(Phillips, 2015)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":61,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/NX8P6G2Y"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/NX8P6G2Y"],"itemData":{"id":61,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Women's Studies Quarterly","issue":"3/4","note":"publisher: JSTOR","page":"3351","source":"Google Scholar","title":"The power of the first-person narrative: Ericka Huggins and the Black Panther Party","title-short":"The power of the first-person narrative","volume":"43","author":[{"family":"Phillips","given":"Mary"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2015"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Phillips, 2015). Therefore, the grand scheme of things, the aggression and narcissism unique to the death drive, do not necessarily culminate in destruction, as many prefer to believe.
The existence of the BPP provides grounds for questioning the exclusive connection between the death drive and destruction by demonstrating the role that aggression or violence play in nurturing civilization. In principle, Freud defines the quest for pleasure as life's ultimate goal. However, research reveals Freud's realization that absolute compliance with the pleasure principle would be harmful and dangerous ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"Lkr8YcXt","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Cho, 2006)","plainCitation":"(Cho, 2006)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":48,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/7VYVXF6C"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/7VYVXF6C"],"itemData":{"id":48,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Policy Futures in Education","issue":"1","note":"publisher: SAGE Publications Sage UK: London, England","page":"1830","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Thanatos and Civilization: Lacan, Marcuse, and the death drive","title-short":"Thanatos and Civilization","volume":"4","author":[{"family":"Cho","given":"Daniel"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2006"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Cho, 2006). Therefore, human beings have learned to enter into civilization agreements where the drive towards pleasure is dulled. The state of civilization suppresses the powerful insights that would otherwise result in the full manifestation of death and drives traits such as aggression ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"nXAYM3fN","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Ouc0u8217{}Connor, 2016)","plainCitation":"(OConnor, 2016)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":58,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/QSINVTKT"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/QSINVTKT"],"itemData":{"id":58,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"The Psychoanalytic Review","issue":"3","note":"publisher: Guilford Press","page":"423443","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Freud on the death drive as existence without tension","volume":"103","author":[{"family":"O'Connor","given":"Brian"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2016"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (O'Connor, 2016). Typically, the concept of civilization emerges as individuals in society learn to renounce the influence of the death drive on the outward expression of tensions ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"5tXx3bQZ","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Cho, 2006)","plainCitation":"(Cho, 2006)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":48,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/7VYVXF6C"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/7VYVXF6C"],"itemData":{"id":48,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Policy Futures in Education","issue":"1","note":"publisher: SAGE Publications Sage UK: London, England","page":"1830","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Thanatos and Civilization: Lacan, Marcuse, and the death drive","title-short":"Thanatos and Civilization","volume":"4","author":[{"family":"Cho","given":"Daniel"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2006"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Cho, 2006). In the present case, one could argue that the BPP helped push society towards the improved treatment of Black community rights by forcing a review of the state of civilization.
In sum, Freud's theory of the death drive is one of the critical explanations of human behaviour. In this theory, Freud argues that the ultimate human motive is death, so they sometimes become aggressive to others to speed up their death. He specifically called it the "drive towards death and destruction" in the manner that the aim of life is death. Therefore, humans live to this single motive, knowing that death forms the end of all achievements in life ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"wcPE6Mwz","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Zentner, 2012)","plainCitation":"(Zentner, 2012)","noteIndex":0},"citationItems":[{"id":106,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/3XV4KR9Q"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/VNlKE86S/items/3XV4KR9Q"],"itemData":{"id":106,"type":"article-journal","container-title":"Australasian Journal of Psychotherapy","issue":"2","page":"74","source":"Google Scholar","title":"Freud, Jung, Spielrein and the Death Drive","volume":"30","author":[{"family":"Zentner","given":"Oscar"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2012"]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Zentner, 2012). According to Freud, people can channel their death either outwards or inwards. The inwards desire for death makes people have suicidal thoughts, while the outward desire makes them aggressive to others in a manner that could harm them. Freud did not just imagine the theory, but it came out from several clinical observations. One of the critical aspects of his argument is that people tend to reconstruct their traumatic experiences, which play a more crucial role in their suicidal thoughts.
However, Freud's theory provides a conclusion that falls beyond destruction. Freud's death drive theory plays a more crucial role in the way we visualize radical change. The theory is crucial, as it primarily impacts the way humans see society. They view themselves concerning the prevalent environmental conditions and their relationships with other people. In this manner, they better understand the critical radical changes they have to make about the environment, or rather human relationships, to enhance or suppress their death drive approaches. As it applies to the BPP, a review of the death drive suggests that it derails human consciousness, which can be revealed in their desire for sabotage and annihilation, especially when they are denied access to peace and pleasure. It occurs in this manner since they have been deprived of their reason and cannot see the good in society. Simultaneously, Freud's death drive theory enables humans to externalize radical change by triggering relations between violence and civilization. In this way, the death drive plays a more defined role in shaping radical social change because it creates an avenue through which aggrieved individuals can create a new state of affairs. Specifically, the concept of death appears to lead to a new life, an end that appears justified despite its violent means.
Reference List
ADDIN ZOTERO_BIBL {"uncited":[],"omitted":[],"custom":[]} CSL_BIBLIOGRAPHY Armengou, F.G.-C. (2009) The death drive: Conceptual analysis and relevance in the Spanish psychoanalytic community, The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 90(2), pp. 263289.
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Cho, D. (2006) Thanatos and Civilization: Lacan, Marcuse, and the death drive, Policy Futures in Education, 4(1), pp. 1830.
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Phu, T.N. (2008) Shooting the movement: Black Panther Party photography and African American protest traditions, Canadian Review of American Studies, 38(1), pp. 165189.
Razinsky, L. (2010) Driving death away: Death and Freuds theory of the death drive, The Psychoanalytic Review, 97(3), pp. 393424.
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Zentner, O. (2012) Freud, Jung, Spielrein and the Death Drive, Australasian Journal of Psychotherapy, 30(2), p. 74.
FEEDBACK SHEET
Please note all marks are provisional subject to change at the Summer Exam Boards
Student Number Module Name/Code/Essay1/2/3 Marking Criteria Level of Achievement
1.Research
Systematic identification of academic literature and other relevant sources
Good
2.Subject of knowledge & Analysis
Examination and interpretation of sources, and understanding and application of subject knowledge and the underlying principles
Fail
3.Structure
Communication, presentation and organisation; clarity of purpose;
Pass
4. Presentation
Presentation style; awareness and inclusion of academic references/sources; use of examples, use of visual or textual mediums of communication
Pass
5. Critical thinking
critical engagement with literature and sources; development of critical discussion
Fail
6. Personal & Professional development:
(if applicable)
demonstration of areas of development in knowledge, skills and reflective practices
n/a
Open Feedback
Even though the student references a range of sources and relevant literature they did not succeed in offering a more in depth analysis of Freuds death drive neither in making a deeper connection with radical movements that have argued for violence as a necessary tool for ending oppression and reclaiming independence such as the Black Panther Party. The student remained on the surface by claiming mainly that the death drive can have roots that are not solely based on despair, hopelessness and suicide. It would have been helpful to delve into the principles of the black panther movement and maybe contrast them with Martin Luther King (as standing for peace and reconciliation). There is a long traditions of radical movements such Fanons decolonisation or BPP that claim violence to be the only route in order to get rid of the chains of slavery and decolonisation; as a means to deep transformation from the slave mentality and colonised psychology that has been so ingrained in the oppressed populations. In this case it is a reclaim of death for giving space to rebirth as radical transformation (not just reformation).
Key areas of strength: a the choice of focusing on BPP was a good choice in order to re-read the death drive as productive and not merely destructive.
Key areas for improvement: deeper critical thinking and analytic insight/ closer reading of theories and engaging with concepts in a more attentive and profound way
Overall Grade: 35%
Marker:
Dr Mercer
Date: 26/02/22
Essay 1 (2000 words +/- 10%)
1.Is the death drive only about destructiveness? How does Freuds theory of the death drive help us think of radical change (personal or historical/social)? Draw on examples of either revolutionary political movements and activism; or spiritual/philosophical systems and practices that draw on the symbolism of death to reflect on personal change, growth and transformation.