Id, Ego, and Super-Ego

"Men are conscious of their own desire, but are ignorant of the causes whereby that desire has been determined." ~Spinoza

How did they do it?

Every so often you have people who come along that completely transform the traditional paradigm…  It is truly a remarkable feat of genius and imagination. These are just a few examples…

~ Pythagoras…The Pythagorean Theorem

~ Copernicus…The Origins of the Universe

~ Newton…Calculus and the Button hook Theory

~ Darwin…Origins of the Species

Sigmund Freud is also one of those unique individuals. Freud is known as the father of psychoanalysis.  His basics objective was “to make the unconscious conscious.” Today, almost all therapies begin by trying to raise your level of awareness, increasing the amount of information available to you, and thus improving the likelihood of your making an intelligent decision concerning your problem.

Freud's investigations and observations of internal conflicts led him to an eventual division of the mind into three parts… three conflicting cognitive tendencies… the well-known id, ego, and super-ego.

It’s very important to remember that there were no fMRI’s (Functional magnetic resonance imaging) or PET (Position emission tomography) scans in existence at that time. This makes Freud’s observations all the more fascinating.   

This compartmentalization (id, ego, superego) is the separation of the mind into three structures and functions which exist in literal partitions in the brain…but more than structures, they are separate entities of the single structure of the mind. 

Today’s Neuroscientist can observe through modern technology the complex interaction of these structures that seem to be the very thing Freud was describing through his behavioral observation… * note the pairings

~ Brain Stem…Id

~ Limbic system…Ego

~ Neo Cortex…Super Ego

Let me give you a brief description of the characteristics of these cognitive structures.

Brain Stem…The brain stems functions are to control involuntary behavior that the conscious mind does not. (i.e. cardiac and respiratory) It is also responsible for the fight or flight mechanism. The brain stem is responsible for our main drives, “knows no judgment of value: no good and evil, no morality.”

(The Id)

Limbic System… The limbic system (LS) is power packed with functions. But for our purposes we will focus on the behavior aspects. The (LS) is the area of the brain (mid-brain) that colors our world. It is the area that allows mammals to experience and express passions, emotions and the desire to get things done. The (LS) area adds a “object” to the biological demands/desires of the brain stem.

(Very similar to the Ego)

Neo-cortex… The Neo-cortex (new mass) is what separates humans from other mammals.  It is the executor of our behavior…it watches, supervises, guides, directs, and focuses our behavior. It is also responsible for you to be appropriate, goal directed, socially responsible and effective.

(Sounds a lot like the super ego)

Now let’s take a look at the genius of what Freud proposed about the inner drives that create the conundrum of emotions that preside within us…the human species.

 

The id, the ego and the superego function at different levels of consciousness. Freud's theory of the mind depends upon the ability of impulses or memories to "float" from one level to another. The interaction between the three functions of the mind represents a constant movement of neurological impulses from one level to another.

The Id

As a baby emerges “Id-ridden” from the womb into life, he wants only to act on the drives and impulses of biology to eat, drink, urinate, defecate, find warmth, and gain sexual pleasure. (Also see Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) These urges are the demands of the id, the most primitive motivational force. In pursuit of these ends, the id demands immediate gratification: it is ruled by the pleasure principle, demanding satisfaction now, regardless of circumstances and possible consequences. If a young girl was ruled entirely by her id, she would steal and eat a piece of chocolate from a store regardless of the consequences of the owner or even her parents standing beside her.

Freud… “The id will not stand for a delay in gratification. For some urges, such as thirst, is easily satisfied. However, if the urge is not immediately quenched, the id will form a memory of the end of the motivation: the thirsty infant will form an image of the mother's breast. This act of wish-fulfillment satisfies the id's desire for the moment, though obviously it does not reduce the tension of the unfulfilled urge.”

(Id-ridden…instinctive drives and impulses, and needs immediate satisfaction)

(Pleasure principle…the seeking of pleasure to avoid pain or un-pleasure aroused by increases in instinctual tension)

The Ego

The eventual awareness that immediate gratification is usually impossible…and often unwise… comes with the formation of the ego, which is ruled by the reality principle. The ego acts as a go-between in the id's relations with reality, often suppressing the id's urges until an appropriate situation arises. This repression of inappropriate desires and urges represents the greatest strain on, and the most important function of the mind. The ego often utilizes defense mechanisms to achieve and aid this repression. Where the id may have an urge and form a picture which satisfies this urge, (i.e. hunger) the ego engages in a strategy to actually fulfill the urge. The mature adult will now not only identifies food as the satisfaction of his “hunger” urge, but forms a plan to obtain food, perhaps by going to the pantry.

While the ego is still in the service of the id, it borrows some of its cognitive energy in an effort to control the urge until it is reasonably satisfied. The ego's effort of a practical satisfaction of urges eventually creates a great number of skills and memories and becomes aware of itself as an entity. With the formation of the ego, the individual becomes a self, instead of an amalgamation of urges and needs.

(The reality principle is the factual governor of the actions taken by the ego, and always opposes the pleasure principle of the Id)

The Superego

While the ego may temporarily repress certain urges of the id in fear of punishment, eventually these external sources of punishment are internalized, and the young girl mentioned earlier will not steal the chocolate, even unwatched, because she has taken punishment, right, and wrong into herself. The superego uses guilt and self-reproach as its primary means of enforcement for these rules. But if a person does something which is acceptable to the superego, he experiences pride and self-satisfaction.

The superego is sub-dividable into two parts: conscience and ego ideal. Conscience tells what is right and wrong, and forces the ego to inhibit the id in pursuit of morally acceptable, not pleasurable or even realistic, goals. The ego ideal aims the individual's path of life toward the ideal, perfect goals instilled by society, and fostered through habit. In the pursuit, the mind attempts to make up for the loss of the “perfect life” (i.e. instinctual desires) experienced as a baby.

Conclusion

To answer the question, “we know what to do…why we don’t do it?” one must understand our desires and where they manifest from. Reading psychology and evolutionary neural biology has helped me to understand these hardwired impulsive traits within our behavior.

Ultimately I, “superego” is responsible for my actions. There will always be desires from the Id… and it is my responsibility to make sure my superego enforces the pairings of the Ids needs and the egos attachments. Through this process we will learn to value the power of rational thought, and will increasingly rely on our enlightened insights in making critical decisions.

It is my hope that through education and personal reflection, we can all become aware of our inherited instinctual desires and what we pair those desires with, so that we can go forth and learn to guide those drives with the full activation of the superego.

As Francis Bacon concluded in his 1626 work New Atlantis…

“The end of our foundation is the knowledge of causes and the secret motions of things and the enlarging of the bounds of human empire, to the effecting of all things possible.”