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= D.: Sadismus.–Es.: sadismo.–Fr.: sadisme.–I.: sadismo.–P.: sadismo.
Sexual perversion in which satisfaction is dependent on suffering or humiliation inflicted upon others.
Psycho-analysis extends the notion of sadism beyond the perversion described by sexologists: in the first place it identifies numerous more embryonic forms–especially infantile ones; secondly, it makes sadism into one of the fundamental components of instinctual life.
For a description of the different forms and degrees of the sadistic perversion, the reader is referred to the works of the sexologists–particularly those of Krafft-Ebing and Havelock Ellis (α).
As regards terminology, it should be noted that Freud tends for the most part to reserve the term ‘’ (cf. for example Three Essays on the Theory of [1905d] or ‘sadism proper’ 1 for cases where there is an association between sexuality and violence used against others.
Speaking more loosely, however, he does at times use the word to mean such violence whether or not it is accompanied by sexual satisfaction 2 (see ‘’, ‘’, ‘’). This sense of the word has attained wide currency in psycho-analysis despite Freud's emphasis on the fact that it is not absolutely strict. The danger of this usage is that it encourages an unjustified conflation of sadism and aggressiveness. It is especially marked in the writings of Melanie Klein and her followers.
(α) It was Krafft-Ebing who suggested giving this perversion the name of sadism, with reference to the work of the Marquis de Sade.
= D.: Sadismus/Masochismus, Sadomasochismus.–Es.: sadismo/masoquismo, sado-masoquismo.–Fr.: sadisme/masochisme, sado-masochisme.–I.: sadismo/masochismo, sado-masochismo.–P.: sadismo/masoquismo, sado-masoquismo.
The coupling of sadism and masochism is not just