A THOUGHT ON FREUD… and his theory about the Id, Ego, and Superego.
This literally popped into my head this morning, and my ego is about to offer a correction to Freud’s theory about the Superego.
The ID = survival instinct, reactive, reacts automatically and pulls for certain survival reactions
The EGO = our conscious mind, making decisions, trying to keep the id in check, worried about what’s the right thing to do (Freud called the moral aspect the super ego but I think he missed the boat). The Ego is the conscious go-between deciding between the pull of the darker force of the id and the possibility for good of superego (Freud and I basically agree on the ego being the go-between). However…
SUPEREGO — Freud got the whole super-ego wrong. He puts the morality aspect and judgement here as opposed to the id or ego. In Freud’s concept, the Superego is the voice of God’s wrath or parents telling you not to do something wrong.But for me sometimes even the Id REACTS to moral imperatives since the Id is all about survival. It could therefore automatically react a certain way based on morality due to fear of consequences such as going to hell or getting a whuppin’ — and being reactive is in the realm of the unconscious, the id.
For me… this third aspect which we could still call the SUPEREGO, is actually an aspect of the human psyche that Freud never addresses. It’s the aspirational part of the human psyche. It’s an ideal… It’s imagining what’s possible for good but there is no judgement if you don’t do it. It’s what we could say is pure love, oneness, no negative feelings… “It’s all good.” Without judgement. It’s compassion.
It’s an ideal one may (or may not) choose to strive for. It’s the idea that God loves you no matter what. It’s the idea of a zen state of peace or being at one with all there is in the world. It is not judgmental.
It represents what we see as possible when we move toward the pinnacle of being our best selves, more of the time…. no longer being run by the ID or having the EGO struggle so much with decisions. Ideally (in my view), as one develops maturity over a lifetime, The Ego, as the manager and negotiator between the two opposing forces, would more and more consistently choose to operate in alignment with the Superego.
The more fully the ego chooses to align with and operate as the Superego the non-judging, all-is-well super-ego, the more AtOneMent, enlightenment, being Christ-like, or having elevated existence is achieved.
Freud did not address the Aspirational element of the human experience. This is basically why Carl Jung split from him after having worked closely with him for so long. ###