ABSTRACT
The development of psychical structuring, of the structuring of psychical energy, was approached by Freud initially through a theory of drives (Triebe) and specifically of the sexual drive. Gradually, however, Freud came to theorize psychical structuring as the development of specific agencies within the psyche. To denote the energy of the psyche Freud chooses the term Trieb, which can be rendered as 'drive', and not the available Instinkt, which he reserves for explicit references to animal instincts. Indeed the notion of ego-libido heralds the introduction of the second Freudian topography of the psyche, theorizing precisely the ego as one of the agencies of the psyche. With the introduction of the topography of the psyche Freud further qualifies the type of energy emanating from the ego which he had earlier introduced as ego-libido. Finally, in the notion of the superego Freud synthesizes that of ego-ideal and of an aggressive agency within the psyche, its aggression directed towards the ego.
