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Words: | Submitted: Thu Jul 11 2002
... Sigmund Freud developed the idea of aggression as instinctive: a servant of the 'pleasure principle'. Aggression was seen as a reaction to frustration experienced in the pursuit of pleasure. Freud later developed a Dual Instinct Theory where, alongside the life instinct Eros, he conceived a second, death instinct, Thantos. It is assumed that aggressive behaviour diverts the destructive energy and tension associated with Thantos. Thus, Freud claimed that the displacement of negative energy of the Thantos onto others is the basis of aggression (See Ref. 1, Alexandra K. Smith). This led to the idea of catharsis. While Freud focused on the death instinct as the cause of aggression, Konrad Lorenz looked at instinctual aggressiveness as a product of evolution. His approach, known as the ethological approach, saw aggression as an innate behavioural disposition arising from natural selection. Aggression is beneficial as it increases chances of survival and successful conservation of the ...
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