Death may be the greatest of all human blessings. Socrates, as cited in Plato, 1892, p. 122

Death by choice, death by instinct, or natural death: are they mutually exclusive, or do they occur simultaneously? In this thesis, Sigmund Freud's theories of Thanatos, the “death instinct” (1917/1966), and Eros, the “life instinct” (1920/1961) are discussed and evaluated through the actions of human beings (Hunt, 1994). Death is defined in broader terms than just an event of the termination of one's life processes. Death encompasses a series of actions participated in during a lifetime, as well as losses outside of one's control. The influences of culture and environment affect one's longevity, depending on whether one can break away from the pervasive pressure and think independently. Using hermeneutic methodology, this research analyzes, or synthesizes, existing theories on death, and life, and proposes a new theory regarding the energy transfer taking place between the activation of the death, or life forces, and what sustains them.