Death and Love: Psychoanalytic and Philosophical Perspectives

Death and Love brings together notable psychoanalytic and philosophical theorists to explore the connection between death and love.

The book examines how these phenomena shape human existence and relationships, challenging the conventional dichotomy between life-affirming and death-driven dimensions. The volume features contributions from international scholars who illustrate these ideas through various lenses, including literature, film, and theology. The chapters consider the role of the death drive in shaping social bonds, the transformative power of love beyond individual existence, and the notion that, both philosophically and psychoanalytically, love aligns with the realm of death.

Death and Love will be essential reading for academics and students of philosophy, psychoanalysis, existentialism, theology, and psychology. It will also be of interest to psychoanalysts in practice and in training, and to all readers wishing to explore this thought-provoking topic.

Julie Reshe is a Ukrainian-born philosopher and the author of a negative psychoanalytic approach. She teaches at University College Cork and the Global Centre for Advanced Studies, Ireland.

Todd McGowan teaches theory and film at the University of Vermont, USA. He is the author of several previous books and co-host (with Ryan Engley) of the Why Theory podcast.