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This paper examines Freud's final formulation of the concept of drive and of the dual drive theory. It is suggested that the combination of Freud's empiricism, his choice of a biological foundation, and his view of language were crucial to his conception of drive. Subsequent modifications of drive theory are discussed, such as those found in the work of Klein, Winnicott, Gill, Schafer, Lichtenberg, Gedo, and Young-Breuhl. Recent research concerning the acquisition and functioning of human language as well as current neuro- and other biological science findings lead to a modified conception of drive, as well as indicate an incompleteness in Freud's final set of primary drives. An expansion of the primary set of drives is proposed to include a further drive, called the interpretive drive. This third, primary drive is shown to satisfy Freud's essential criteria. It is also presupposed as a prerequisite to human functioning as characterized in the work of Bion. The addition of a third, interpretive drive supports an integral conception of mind and body as called
Dr. Katz is a Research Scholar at the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women and the Stone Center and maintains a private practice in Lenox, MA.
Acknowledgment: The author would like to thank Alan Barnett, Gerard Fromm, Benjamin Kilborne, and Arthur Valenstein for their comments.
for by, for example, Meissner. The addition denies the possibility of a reduction or derivation of mind from body as suggested in the work of Freud, and more recently, that of Meissner.