De Mort — L'instinct

: Seen in Gothic art, "memento mori," and the fascination with tragedy.

: The psyche seeks to reduce all internal tension to zero. L'Instinct de mort

Contrast it more deeply with to show how they work together. : Seen in Gothic art, "memento mori," and

: Life is a detour; death is the "home" the organism seeks to return to. : Seen in Gothic art

The death drive isn't always about literal dying; it shows up in daily psychological patterns:

In 1920, Sigmund Freud observed that people often repeat painful experiences, such as veterans reliving trauma. This contradicted his earlier theory that humans only seek pleasure.

: The idea that one must destroy the old self (or old ideas) to create something new.