An introduction to the tripartite mind.

In the world of psychology there are few names that are as well known and well regarded as Freud. This is for good reason as much of our current understanding of the mind and psychology owes a great deal to him. Much of his work deals with consciousness and unconsciousness, repressed memories and dreams, and human sexuality. Perhaps his greatest gift to the world of psychology was a tripartite (three part) conception of the mind (id, ego, and superego). Today I would like to discuss each of these parts and what aspects of mental life they affect.

Id- In Freudian psychology the id is what animates life despite it being part of the unconscious. The id is the unconscious desires and impulses that provide us with the base impetus to take actions. Whether it seeks basic desire such as material pleasure, or more principled pleasures such as honor and glory these desires begin with the id.

Ego- The ego is the individual's sense of self; in fact, the word ego derives from the latin word for ”I”. The ego is a rationalization of the self in reality; or in other words it is the conscious awareness of the self existing in external reality. The ego allows us to mitigate our unconscious desires (id) through our context in the external reality that we are interacting with.

Super-Ego- The super-ego is the internalization of cultural and societal norms which bridges the gap between ego and id. Throughout our life we absorb different rules and norms unconsciously and consciously through our interactions with authorities (teachers, parents, ect), by interacting with our friends and social groups, and by interacting with media and mass culture. Through this absorption we being to internalize the standards and rules of the society that we live in. This forms the basis of our conscience, which is how we mitigate between our own personal desires and our understanding of the needs of the external world.

The mind is is a construct of these three aspects working in unison. Your personality, sense of self, understanding of the world, morality, and desires are all constructed from these three base elements. It is important to have some understanding of each and attempt to find balance between internal desire and external obligation. In my opinion much of the fear, anxiety, immorality and conflict we see in the world today has its roots in an imbalance between these three forces.