Construct · 2 fields · 2 citations

Where does libido collide?

One name. Different field. Different construct. One map.

● jingle · one word, two constructs Nearest construct by meaning·not indexed
libido2 CONSTRUCTSLibido (Freudian)FREUD · 1905Libido (Jungian)JUNG · 1912

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2026

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Freudian psychoanalysis

The sexual energy behind mental life

In Freudian psychoanalysis, libido is the psychic energy of the sexual drives, a quantitatively variable force whose investment in objects, in the ego, and in symptoms Freud used to explain psychosexual development, attachment, and neurosis. Freud introduced the term in his 1905 Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality and elaborated it across his metapsychology. The referent is specifically sexual drive energy within a dual-instinct model, and though it shares the word with Jung's usage it is a narrower construct than Jung's generalised psychic energy.[1]

Unit
The quantity and object of sexual drive energy invested across mental life
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Not directly measured; inferred clinically from the direction and vicissitudes of drive investment

Analytical psychology

A general psychic energy, not only sexual

In Jung's analytical psychology, libido is generalised psychic energy (a non-specific life energy that powers all mental activity, of which sexuality is only one expression) rather than the specifically sexual drive energy of Freud. Jung set out this broadened definition in Symbols of Transformation (first published in 1912 as Wandlungen und Symbole der Libido), a redefinition that marked his break with Freud. The referent is an undifferentiated psychic energy analogous to a general life force, a distinct construct from the Freudian sexual libido that carries the same name.[2]

Unit
The quantity of undifferentiated psychic energy available to mental activity
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Not directly measured; inferred from the flow and canalisation of psychic energy in symbols and behaviour

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Nearby collisions

drive2 fields · 2 citationsjingle · one word, two constructsattachment2 fields · 6 citationsjingle · one word, two constructs

References

  1. Freud, S. (1991). On sexuality: Three essays on the theory of sexuality and other works (A. Richards, Ed.; J. Strachey, Trans.). Penguin. (Original work published 1905) ISBN 9780140137972
  2. Jung, C. G. (1977). Symbols of transformation (R. F. C. Hull, Trans.; Collected Works Vol. 5). Princeton University Press. (Original work published 1912) ISBN 9780691018157

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