Sigmund Freud assumes that the human psyche comprises three distinct and yet interdependent parts: the id, the ego, and the superego. These components of personality have different rates of development and perform distinct roles. However, they work in unison to produce a whole and shape a person’s behavior. Ultimately, Freud concludes that the id generates desires, the ego incorporates reality’s wants, and the superego adds virtue to the action chosen (Boag 6). This way, he seems to regard the three as constructs, yet they are entirely psychological and thus have no real existence in the brain. This means that the three constructs are not natural but are heavily influenced by society.
Freud’s account generally spells out the id, ego and superego in terms of their functions, which is what they are said to do. A problem with such functional definitions is that it is not entirely clear what is said to be performing these functions. Naturally, every organ in the body performs specific functions, and this has been proven scientifically. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the id, ego, and superego since Freud fails to account for how the constructs perform their functions.
Moreover, Freud’s boundaries described above of distinction between id and ego have several flaws. For example, the ego is far from being constant, connected, robust, or immune to basic system functioning as it should be. Likewise, because every id-impulse or desire can only be understood as an urge or impulse to act or express anything, the id cannot be oblivious to natural reality. One weakness of the superego as beliefs approach is that it does not seem to explain the clinical occurrences that have been noticed. Fundamentally, regarding the superego solely as a range of ethical beliefs defies Freud’s accounts, in which the superego seems to be both motivated and dynamic.
The flows mentioned above of the three constructs reinforce the idea that they are merely influenced by society. It can be argued that the id does not generate desires because they are construct of society. For example, the primary purpose of being educated is to find a good job which comes with possibility of becoming wealth. Level education and wealth are social constructs which categorise individuals in respective societal group. Thus, a person desires to be wealthy because the id pushes them to be but because society regards wealth as a measure of success.
The id, ego, and superego are important concepts that help people to understand the essence of human behavior. Sigmund Freud’s theory of personality treats the three as systems that exist as unique entities. However, this is not the case as illustrated in this essay. The most obvious flaw of Freud’s theory is that it does not explain how the id, ego, and superego perform their functions. The absence of this clarification implies that the concepts are not natural but are mainly influenced by society or external environment. Therefore, research in this direction is required since this essay it demonstrates how personality constructs are frequently considered permanent and static realities whereas the findings reveal that the mind, its ego-structures, and inner entities are dynamic and adaptable.
Work Cited
Boag, Simon. “Ego, drives, and the dynamics of internal objects.” Frontiers in psychology 5 (2014): 666.