Repetition, the Compulsion to Repeat, and the Death Drive

M. Andrew Holowchak, PhD, teaches philosophy at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs.Michael Lavin, PhD, is a psychologist with the United States Department of the Army.

In the authors’ own words the central aim of this volume is: “Our project has been undertaken for both critical and historical reasons. We have aimed to understand Freud. Just what is the compulsion to repeat and does it provide evidence of some primal drive that points beyond the pleasure principle? Moreover, how did Freud arrive at his notion of a compulsion to repeat? Finally, just what is salvageable?” They have admirably answered these questions in an impressive work of exacting exegesis, historical reflection, philosophical analysis and pragmatic clinical evaluation. This book is simply a first rate piece of scholarship which leaves the reader with a nuanced and deeper understanding of central issues in Freud. However it is accessible for a beginning student of Freud as the authors also provide a clear and succinct introduction to the main dimensions of Freud’s thought. Finally, these authors are not dogmatic doctrinaire Freudians—fair and useful critiques of shortcomings are offered. This book is an essential read as it does an compelling job of arguing that repetition is a central construct in Freudian theory—and thus necessary to an accurate understanding of Freud. I think their arguments are convincing and need to be acknowledged by anyone with an interest in Freud or psychoanalytic theory and therapy.

• Part I: Some Early Uses of “Repetition” in PsychoanalysisChapter 1: Repetition and Psychoanalysis as Individual TherapyChapter 2: Repetition and Neurosis: Phylogenetic AccountPart II: “Beyond the pleasure principle,” and BeyondChapter 3: The Road to “Beyond the pleasure principle”Chapter 4: “Beyond the pleasure principle”Chapter 5: Compulsion to Repeat and the Death Drive in Later WorksPart III: Critical AnalysisChapter 6: Freud’s Compulsion to Justify the Death DriveChapter 7: A Non-Daemonic Compulsion to Repeat