Freud defined plasticity as libidinal mobility plus psychic indestructibility

Evidence

In Freud, “plasticity” mainly designates two essential phenomena: on one hand, the vitality of the libido, its capacity to change its object and to resist fixation; and on the other hand, the indestructible character of psychic life. Within the psyche, nothing is forgotten; traces have an indestructible character. Imprints can be modified, deformed, and reformed-but they persist A very beautiful passage from “Thoughts for the Times on War and Death” elaborates this sense of plasticity: T h e developm ent o f the m ind shows a peculiarity which is present in no other developm ental process. — Catherine Malabou, The New Wounded, 547

Categorization

• XREF: Lays out the Freudian sense that Malabou will contrast with destructive plasticity; connects to her reading of Freud’s ‘Thoughts for the Times on War and Death.’ — connects to: Freud never found the death drive’s form because he stripped destruction of plasticity — Catherine Malabou, The New Wounded: From Neurosis to Brain…, 4097
• DEFINE: Precisely delimits the two Freudian senses of plasticity that the ‘third sense’ will be set against.