On the Destruction and Death Drives

‘More than ten years after his death, André Green remains one of the most important thinkers and clinicians in contemporary psychoanalysis. In this volume, from the perspective of Freud’s final drive theory, Green examines the status and deepens the place of the death drive in psychoanalytic metapsychology, the clinic, and in culture and history. While the concept of a death drive may remain controversial, the fact of destructiveness is, without a doubt, at stake within most of our patients and within our society. Reading this book opens the mind to a large and modern practice of psychoanalysis and a deepened understanding of contemporary sociopolitical events.’

-- Evelyne Sechaud, past president, European Psychoanalytic Federation (EPF/FEP) and past president, French Psychoanalytic Association (APF)

‘This volume, which offers readers a unique, impressive integration of the essential contributions of André Green to psychoanalytic theory and treatment, is an essential synthesis of major advances in psychoanalytic theory and approaches to clinical work. Starting not only with Freud’s conclusions, but with an identification with Freud’s method of thinking, Green expands the reach of Freud’s metapsychology and therapeutic approach beyond neurosis to the territory of severe psychopathology: borderline conditions, severe narcissistic structures, and the total universe of primitive psychopathologies that could not respond to the classical psychoanalytic approach. It is warmly recommended to psychoanalytic clinicians, researchers, teachers, and students.’

-- Otto F. Kernberg, MD, professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine

'On the Destruction and the Death Drives sheds ample light on today’s clinical practice. It is an impressive tool for psychoanalysts interested in technical issues like the frame and the function of interpretation with difficult patients. [...] The austerity of the themes and the complexity of the theory are compensated for by the clear writing, making it easy to associate with clinical practice and the impasses we can face. Green’s work addresses everrecurring human destructiveness and offers the attentive reader a hefty support when facing the negative in patients, including new thoughts and representations to make us feel more fully and clinically alive. I highly recommend this book to psychoanalysts interested in Green’s innovative ideas on our work with difficult to treat patients who pose special problems around representability.'

-- Christine Anzieu-Premmereur, The Psychoanalytic Quarterly, July,