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Drives

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Introduction

Freud used the words instinkt (instinct) and treib (drive) seemingly without organized differentiation. Opposing forces or dualism characterized Freud’s thoughts about instinct, in both the nature of the instinct itself and in the source of the force as being of the mind or the body. Freudian instinct differs from strictly biological instinct in the uniquely human consciousness to mentalize the pressure to respond to a sometimes consistent presence of an urge with or without identifiable stimulus. The vast variety of urges to act within the human species, sometimes deemed pathological, might also suggest forces not strictly rooted in the body.

Drive, as used in Freudian psychoanalysis, does not have a distinct role in religious/psychological literature. Religious texts referring to pressure to act generally speak of instinct or inclination, sometimes conceived as divinely implanted.

Psychoanalysis

Freud conceived the instincts as amoral. The psychical forces taming,...

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Bibliography

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Correspondence to Stefanie Teitelbaum .

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Teitelbaum, S. (2014). Drives. In: Leeming, D.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychology and Religion. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_186

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6086-2_186

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4614-6085-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6086-2

  • eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

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