What does "pleasure principle" mean?

The principle that human decisions and behavior are strongly motivated by the instinctual desire of the id, arising in infancy, to experience pleasure and avoid pain.

Pleasure principle

Q: What is a synonym for "pleasure principle"?

Common synonyms include: anima, appetite, appetitiveness, ardor, coconscious, collective unconscious.

noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
The principle that human decisions and behavior are strongly motivated by the instinctual desire of the id, arising in infancy, to experience pleasure and avoid pain.
"Bork warns that America is in the grip of a radical individualism that recognizes no limit to the right of personal gratification, one for which the pleasure principle is the only principle that counts."
2
(psychoanalysis) the governing principle of the id; the principle that an infant seeks gratification and fails to distinguish fantasy from reality wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

anima appetite appetitiveness ardor coconscious collective unconscious

Antonyms

All antonyms

reality principle

Example

More examples

"Bork warns that America is in the grip of a radical individualism that recognizes no limit to the right of personal gratification, one for which the pleasure principle is the only principle that counts."

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