The drive, the sexual and the compulsion: the death-bringing in Freud, Laplanche and Dejours

Abstract

Gathering the contributions of Freud, Jean Laplanche and Christophe Dejours on the concept of death drive, this paper proposes an investigation concerning non-neurotic phenomena, progressively evident in the contemporary clinical practice. Distinct theorizations regarding the death-bringing composes the central axis that conducts this study, which also contains clinical pieces aiming to illustrate some manifestations presented by borderline patients, evidencing the strength and death potential – psychic or biological – of the instinctual discharge with no intercession.