Drives and Object Relations

Drive Theory (Life and Death)

Freud defines the drive as a dynamic process, a drive that moves the organism toward an end in order to suppress a state of bodily tension.

Unlike instinct (which is biological and inherited), the drive is charged with life experience.

In his second topic, Freud distinguishes between Life drives (Eros), which seek survival, pleasure and well-being without losing the ego; and Death drives (Thanatos), associated with destruction and aggressiveness.

It is vital to understand that the same activity, such as eating or sexuality, can be charged with life drive (nutrition, pleasure) or death drive (morbid obesity, risky behaviors), depending on how it is executed.

Object Relations Theory (Klein)

Melanie Klein proposes an epistemological twist where relations with the "object" (the other) become more relevant than pure drives.

From birth, the infant experiences a symbiosis with the mother, without differentiating its ego from the object.

Klein describes the splitting of the object into Good Breast (the one that gratifies, nurtures and sustains) and Bad Breast (the one that frustrates or is absent).

The child projects his love drives onto the good object ("thanks to you I am well") and his aggressive drives onto the bad object ("because of you I am bad").

These early interactions shape the mind and determine how the individual will relate in the future, transforming interpersonal relationships into internalized relationships.

Summary

Freud defines drive as a dynamic drive distinct from biological instinct. He dis