Abstract

This study explores the psychology of love from within the framework of psychoanalytic theory. Its focus is upon the nature and development of the mind, and the psychology of the mind in love. ;The study begins with an examination of two of Plato's dialogues which posit a theory of eros. The main section of the study consists of an examination of selected theoretical works of Sigmund Freud which are central to his theory of the mind, as well as those of his other works which deal directly with the psychology of love. Special attention is given to Freud's development of a theory of eros, and to those aspects of his theory which led him to posit a death drive which acts in opposition to eros. ;The sections on Freud's work are followed by an examination of what other, selected theorists have contributed to a psychoanalytic theory of the mind and to an understanding of the psychology of love. Selected works by Robert Waelder, Anna Freud, Heinz Hartmann, Edith Jacobson and Otto Kernberg are examined. Special attention is given to the ways in which these theorists have modified Freud's theory of eros and the death drive, as well as to hypotheses regarding a series of developmental tasks requisite to the capacity to love. ;A final chapter utilizes concepts developed in previous chapters to directly examine psychological processes hypothesized to occur in sexual love. Special attention is given to regressive processes and to the role of the self in sexual love. ;Overall, this study serves as an introduction to and examination of the metapsychological framework upon which a psychoanalytic theory of the mind and a psychology of love may be constructed. Its value lies in closely examining a theoretical framework regarding the mind, and in using that framework to suggest formulations regarding the psychology of love