Freud's concept of a death drive is seen as a defense against the dread of death. It wards off the terror of absolute annihilation and oblivion, and also makes death an actively sought rather than a passively experienced eventuality. By establishing the concept of the death drive, there is an attempt to render death harmless; in speaking of a conflict between Eros and the death drive, there is a tacit, optimistic implication that the outcome is in doubt.