pleasure principle

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Related to pleasure principle: reality principle

pleasure principle

In psychoanalysis, the tendency or drive to achieve pleasure and avoid pain as the chief motivating force in behavior.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

pleasure principle

(Psychoanalysis) psychoanal the idea that psychological processes and actions are governed by the gratification of needs. It is seen as the governing process of the id, whereas the reality principle is the governing process of the ego. See also hedonism

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pleas′ure prin`ciple

Psychoanal. an automatic mental drive or instinct seeking to avoid pain and to obtain pleasure.

[1910–15]

pleasure principle

The immediate satisfaction of urges and desires is, according to psychoanalytical theory, an overriding principle which remains with us even in adulthood to a marked degree.

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Noun

pleasure principle - (psychoanalysis) the governing principle of the id; the principle that an infant seeks gratification and fails to distinguish fantasy from reality

pleasure-pain principle, pleasure-unpleasure principle

depth psychology, psychoanalysis, analysis - a set of techniques for exploring underlying motives and a method of treating various mental disorders; based on the theories of Sigmund Freud; "his physician recommended psychoanalysis"

principle - a basic truth or law or assumption; "the principles of democracy"

reality principle - (psychoanalysis) the governing principle of the ego; the principle that as a child grows it becomes aware of the real environment and the need to accommodate to it

Translations

plea·sure prin·ci·ple

n. principio del placer, conducta dirigida a satisfacer deseos propios y evadir el dolor.

English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

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References in periodicals archive ?

"There has been unprotected sex by both homosexuals and heterosexuals since the beginning of the epidemic," says Michael Bronski, author of The Pleasure Principle: Sex, Backlash, and the Struggle for Gay Freedom.

the backlash

Ren Magritte: The Pleasure Principle brings together more than 100 paintings, 50 works on paper, and personal photos, home movie footage and posters created by the Belgian artist during a 50-year career.

Double delight for city art fans; Opening of two major exhibitions

He puts the unpleasure back in the pleasure principle, right where Freud always said it was.

Guy Bourdin: Fahey/Klein Gallery. (Los Angeles)

And Michael Bronski's dense musings on sex and culture in The Pleasure Principle (St.

Abs-olutely fabulous reads

EXHIBITIONS Gina 29, 2012; Mitch Epstein: American Power, Open Eye, until Dec 23; The Pleasure Principle, Open Eye, until Dec 23; A Christmas Carroll, Liverpool Academy of Arts, until Dec 15; The Savage Style, The Walker and Museum of Liverpool, until Feb 19, 2012; Totally Frocked Up!, Contemporary Urban Centre, until Nov 30; The Art Books of Henri Matisse, The Walker, until Apr 15, 2012; Costume Drama: Fashion from 1790 to 1850, Sudley House, until May 7, 2012; The Finishing Touch: Women's Accessories, 1830-1940, Lady Lever Gallery, until Dec 11; The Embroiderers Guild, Victoria Gallery & Museum, until Dec 23; Peter Blake: An Alphabet, The Walker, until Feb 12; Age of the Dinosaur, World Museum Liverpool, until Apr 15; A Question of Taste, Victoria Gallery & Museum, until Jan 28.

the list

Ren Magritte: The Pleasure Principle, being shown at Tate Liverpool, is the largest ever exhibition of the Belgian surrealist's work held in the UK.

Catherine Jones recommends ..

Upstairs, in the middle of a bedroom, we find Beyond the Pleasure Principle, 2000.

SARAH LUCAS

Bronski is the author of The Pleasure Principle: Sex, Backlash, and the Struggle for Gay Freedom.

Monica-gayt: the drama surrounding CLinton and Lewinsky bears a remarkable resemblance to the position of gay people in U.S. culture today

Now Liverpool audiences can discover what made Macca and Melly so passionate about the painter with the opening this month of Ren Magritte: The Pleasure Principle at Tate Liverpool.

of Magic Magritte

Sensuousness abounds in Puckette's works, signaling their homage to the pleasure principle, but there is something jarring about her unsettled lines.

ELLIOTT PUCKETTE

"Humans have created the myth that sexuality can be justified only by reproduction, which by definition limits it to hetero sex," says Michael Bronski, author of The Pleasure Principle: Culture, Backlash, and the Struggle for Gay Freedom.

Monkey love

TO CELEBRATE the launch of Ren Magritte: The Pleasure Principle this month the ECHO has teamed up with Tate Liverpool to present a special ticket offer.