The Ego, the Ego and the Superego, according to Sigmund Freud

The father of psychoanalysis proposed these three concepts, known as 'psychic instances'.

Of all the theories developed by Sigmund Freud, the one of the The egoEgo, the Ego and the Overself is one of the most famous. According to his psychodynamic approach, each of these structures represents a psychic instance that, from our nervous system, leads us to pursue interests that clash with each other.

Thus, the Ellothe I and the Overself are the concepts Freud used to refer to the conflict and struggle of antagonistic forces that, according to him, govern our way of thinking and acting.. The aim of psychoanalysis was, therefore, to bring out the true nature of the conflicts and blockages that Freud believed were at the basis of psychopathology. Let us see in a little more detail what ideas were behind this theory.

The three psychic instances of Freud's theory

The psychodynamic approach, which was born with Freud's psychoanalysis, is based on the idea that the psychic processes that take place in each person are defined by the existence of a conflict. This is the origin of the term "dynamic", which expresses that constant succession of events by which one party tries to impose itself on the other. The concepts of the Ego, the Ego and the Superego form the section of Freud's theories in which this idea of the clash between different psychic structures is most evident.

But let us move away from such abstract terms: what is the basis of this struggle which, according to Freud, is waged in our heads in a fundamentally unconscious way? What interests and objectives are at stake, according to the father of psychoanalysis? To answer these questions it is first necessary to define what are the Ego, the Ego and the Superego, the three entities that for Freud explain the personality of human beings through the way in which they struggle with each other.

1. The Ego

Freud proposed that the Ego or Id is the structure of the human psyche that appears in the first place. Unlike the Ego and the Overself, it is present from the moment we are born, and therefore during the first two years of our lives it is in charge throughout that period of time.

The Ego is driven by the principle of immediate pleasureThe Ego is driven by the principle of immediate pleasure, and therefore strives to make the primary drives govern the person's behavior, regardless of the medium or long-term consequences that this may entail. This is why it is often considered that the Id is the "animal" or "instinctive" part of the human being.

2. The Ego

This psychic instance would emerge from the age of two and, unlike the Ego, would be governed by the principle of reality. This means that the Ego is more outwardly focusedIt leads us to think about the practical consequences of what we do and the problems that can be generated by an overly uninhibited behavior. This makes it confront the Ego to placate the drives emanating from it, for which it uses defense mechanisms.

In short, the Ego is, according to Sigmund Freud's theory, the psychic instance in charge of ensuring that the force of the Ego does not take control of the body, leading us to catastrophic situations in the short term, and that the force of the Overself does not suffocate us due to its restrictive character. It is not simply an entity that limits the influence of the other two, but has its own agenda and interests and is governed by a different logic: that of pragmatism and survival.

3. The Overself

The Overself would appear according to Freud from the age of 3 years of life, and is a consequence of socialization (basically learned through the parents) and the internalization of socially and the internalization of socially consensual norms. It is the psychic instance that ensures compliance with moral rules. That is why the Super-ego presses to make great sacrifices and efforts in order to make one's personality as close as possible to the idea of perfection and goodness.

As the Ego totally rejects the idea of submission to morality and the Self, in spite of trying to restrain the drives, is also driven by selfish goals centered on survival and the pragmatism of adapting to the environment, the Overself confronts both. For the father of psychoanalysis, the Overself makes sense in a context in which the influence of society forces us to adopt behaviors of self-monitoring in order to avoid confrontations with others, even if in the long run this influence goes far beyond this socialization-oriented logic and becomes a fundamental element in the creation of the individual's identity.

The balance between the forces

Freud believed that all these parts of the psyche exist in all people and, in their own way, are an indispensable part of mental processes. However, he also believed that the struggle between the Ego, the Ego and the Superego can sometimes generate decompensations that produce suffering and the appearance of psychopathologies. the correlation of forces should be rebalanced through psychoanalysis.. In fact, one of the characteristics of Freud's theories is that they create a concept of mental health in which disorders are not the exception, but the norm; the most common are the mismatches between these psychic instances, because mental problems remain implicit and latent in the internal struggle between them.

For example, if the Super-ego comes to prevail, the repression of thoughts and emotions can become so excessive that nervous breakdowns occur periodically, something that I attributed for example to the cases of women with hysteria too rigidly adherent to a rigid and deeply restrictive morality.

On the other hand, if the It predominated, this could give way to sociopathy. could give way to sociopathyan impulsivity that endangers both the person experiencing it and others, since the absolute priority is to satisfy needs with urgency.

This concept of balance between forces totally permeated Sigmund Freud's work, since he did not believe that there was a definitive solution to the confrontation between the three psychic instances: the healthiest people are not those in whom the Ego, the Ego and the Super-ego have stopped fighting (something impossible, according to him), but those in whom this struggle causes less misfortune.

It should be noted, however, that the impossibility of refuting Freud's theories makes these three concepts theoretical constructs of little use to current scientific psychology, partly because of the impact on the philosophy of science of the work of Karl Popper and his criticisms of psychoanalysis.