This book, a classic in Finnish psychoanalytic thinking, presents central features of the work of leading psychoanalysts Pentti Ikonen and Eero Rechardt for an English-speaking audience, focussing on the integration of Freud’s final drive theory with object relations theory. Their most thought-provoking contribution is a new interpretation of Thanatos (the death drive), which forms the core of this book. It opens up a totally new perspective not only on aggressiveness, but also on phenomena like narcissism and shame.