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[[Lacan]] follows [[Freud]] in distinguishing the [[instinct]]s from the [[drive]]s. [[Lacan]] -- following [[Freud]] -- distinguishes the [[instinct]]s from the [[drive]]s. , and criticizes those who obscure this distinction by using the same English word ('"[[instinct']]") to translate both [[Freud]]'s terms (''[[Instinkt]]'' ''[[Trieb]]'').<ref>{{E}} p.301</ref>
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"[[Instinct]]" is a purely ''[[biological]]'' concept and belongs to the study of animal ethology.
Whereas animals are driven by [[instincts]], which are relatively regid and invariable, and imply a direct relation to an object, human sexuality is a matter of [[drives]], which are very variable and never attain their object.
Although [[Lacan]] uses the term "[[instinct]]" frequently in his early work, after 1950 he uses the word less frequently, preferring instead to reconceptualize the concept of [[instinct]] in terms of [[need]].
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From his earliest works, Lacan criticizes those who attempt to udnerstand human behavior purely in terms of instincts, arguing that this is to suppose a harmonious relation between man and the world, which does not in fact exist.<ref>{{Ec}} p.88</ref>
