The paradoxical coexistence of the drive for self-preservation and the pull toward self-destruction can be explained as an expression of the deep duality of the human psyche, where forces aimed at sustaining life coexist with impulses that push an individual toward self-annihilation.

The Dual Impulses Within: Balancing Self-Preservation and Self-Destruc

The paradoxical coexistence of the drive for self-preservation and the pull toward self-destruction can be explained as an expression of the deep duality of the human psyche, where forces aimed at sustaining life coexist with impulses that push an individual toward self-annihilation. According to one concept, the unconscious houses not only powerful life instincts but also destructive tendencies. For example, it is noted:

"Suicide is, above all, a terrifying narrowing of consciousness; the unconscious floods the field of awareness. In the unconscious, a person harbors not only a mighty instinct for life but also an instinct for death. Freud even develops this into a whole metaphysics. It is mistaken to think that a person is solely driven by the desire for life and self-preservation; they are also drawn toward death and self-destruction. We are afraid to peer into the depths of fear, and yet something pushes us to look more deeply into it, to fix our gaze on fear, to drive it to the point of horror. We feel an irresistible urge to plunge into the abyss."
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Another perspective emphasizes that the very drive for self-preservation is paradoxical in nature, for although it is aimed at continuing existence, it simultaneously contains an element that contradicts the natural duration of life. In this context, it is stated that:

"And if the 'ultimate goal' and 'perfection' of nature is life as the extension of existence, then the inherent 'natural' drive for self-preservation in the individual turns out to be a 'contrary-to-nature' drive. For it denies the existence inherent in nature: life as duration. Thus, it turns out that our 'other desire' is not in accordance with nature, because the drive for self-preservation is at the same time a pull toward death."
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Furthermore, the dynamics of the internal struggle are complemented by the tension between the need for security and the necessity for growth. The drive for security typically slows down risk and change, whereas growth as a process implies risk and the potential for the destruction of established structures. Thus, these two needs not only compete but also feed into each other, representing interconnected aspects of the same life force.

In summary, this paradox is not a random anomaly but a deeply rooted characteristic of human nature, whereby even the most destructive impulses contain an inherent link to the fundamental life energy aimed at sustaining existence.