Death Instinct and Mental Conflict in Sabina Spielrein’s Early Work (1911–1912)

Abstract: Over a period of twenty years, Sabina Spielrein developed an extensive and original psychoanalytic theory, which makes her deserving of a place alongside the great thinkers of psychoanalysis. Although in recent decades, there has been growing recognition of her life and work, the importance of her theoretical contributions (Spielrein, 2019a [1911], 2019b [1912], 2015 [1922], 2019c [1923], 2019d [1923]), her influence on later psychoanalytic thought and the role she played in the history of psychoanalysis have not yet been fully elucidated. The objective of this paper is to present and discuss some Spielrein’s main hypotheses in her first two publications, “On the Psychological Content of a Case of Schizophrenia” (2019a [1911]) and “Destruction as the Cause of Becoming” (2019b [1912]). Through theoretical and conceptual analysis, I argue that she developed an original view of mental dynamics and mental conflict, particularly in her claim that the death instinct and the species-psyche are the foundation of all psychic processes.