Self-preservation in the context of "Pulcinella"

Survival or survivorship, the act of surviving, is the propensity of something to continue existing, particularly when this is done despite conditions that might kill or destroy it. The concept can be applied to humans and other living things (or, hypothetically, any sentient being), to a physical object, and to abstract things such as beliefs or ideas. Living things generally have a self-preservation instinct to survive, while objects intended for use in harsh conditions are designed for survivability.

The libido (/lɪˈbiːdoʊ/ lih-BEE-doh; from Latin libīdō) refers to a psychological energy that, in common parlance, encompasses all forms of sexual desire, but is sometimes also regarded as the driving force behind other needs, such as a mother's love for her infant. The term was originally developed by Sigmund Freud, the pioneer of psychoanalysis. Initially it referred only to specific sexual needs, but he later expanded the concept to a universal desire, with the id being its "great reservoir". As driving energy behind all life processes, libido became the source of the social engagement (maternal love instinct, for example), sexual behaviour, pursuit for nutrition, skin pleasure, knowledge and victory in all areas of self- and species preservation.

Equating the libido with the Eros of Platonic philosophy, Freud further differentiated two inherent operators: the life drive and the death drive. Both aspects are working complementary to each other: While the death drive, also called Destrudo or Thanatos, embodies the principle of 'analytical' decomposition of complex phenomenon, the effect of life drive (Greek Bios) is to reassemble or synthesise the parts of the decomposition in a way that serves the organisms regeneration and reproduction. Freud's most abstract description of libido represents an energetic potential that begins like a bow to tense up unpleasantly (noticeable 'hunger') in order to pleasantly relax again (noticeable satisfaction); its nature is both physical and psychological. Starting from the id in the fertilised egg, libido initiates also the emergence of two further instances: the ego (function of conscious perception), and the superego, which specialises in retrievable storage of experiences (long-term memory). Together with libido as their source, these three instances represent the common core of all branches of psychoanalysis.

Autotomy ('self-amputation', from the Greek auto-, "self-" and tome, "severing") is the behaviour whereby an animal sheds or discards an appendage, usually as a self-defense mechanism to elude a predator's grasp or to distract the predator and thereby allow escape. Some animals are able to regenerate the lost body part later. Autotomy is thought to have evolved independently at least nine times. The term was coined in 1883 by Leon Fredericq.

Terror management theory (TMT) is a social and evolutionary psychology theory which proposes a basic psychological conflict stemming from two competing facts of human existence: the possession of a self-preservation instinct, and the realization that death is inevitable and to some extent unpredictable. This conflict produces terror, which is often managed through escapism and cultural beliefs that counter biological reality with more significant and enduring forms of meaning and value—basically countering the personal insignificance represented by death with the significance provided by symbolic culture.

The most obvious examples of cultural values that assuage death anxiety are those that purport to offer literal immortality (e.g. belief in the afterlife through religion). However, TMT also argues that other cultural values – including those that are seemingly unrelated to death – offer symbolic immortality. For example, values of national identity, posterity, cultural perspectives on sex, and human superiority over animals have been linked to calming death concerns. In many cases these values are thought to offer symbolic immortality, by either a) providing the sense that one is part of something greater that will ultimately outlive the individual (e.g. country, lineage, species), or b) making one's symbolic identity superior to biological nature (i.e. one is a personality, which makes one more than a mere collection of cells).Because cultural values influence what is meaningful, they are foundational for self-esteem. TMT describes self-esteem as being the personal, subjective measure of how well an individual is living up to their cultural values.

Passing is the ability of a person to be regarded as a member of an identity group or category, such as racial identity, ethnicity, caste, social class, sexual orientation, gender, religion, age or disability status, that is often different from their own. Passing may be used to increase social acceptance to cope with stigma by removing stigma from the presented self and could result in other social benefits as well. Thus, passing may serve as a form of self-preservation or self-protection if expressing one's true or prior identity may be dangerous.

Passing may require acceptance into a community and may lead to temporary or permanent leave from another community to which an individual previously belonged. Thus, passing can result in separation from one's original self, family, friends, or previous living experiences. Successful passing may contribute to economic security, safety, and stigma avoidance, but it may take an emotional toll as a result of denial of one's previous identity and may lead to depression or self-loathing. When an individual deliberately attempts to "pass" as a member of an identity group, they may actively engage in performance of behaviors that they believe to be associated with membership of that group. Passing practices may also include information management of the passer in attempting to control or conceal any stigmatizing information that may reveal disparity from their presumed identity.