The ego functions according to the reality principle, and tries to bring the external world to bear on the impulses of the id. The ego arises from the id as an intermediary between the id and the external world. Therefore, we need a secondary process structure in order for the mind to interact with the external world. Actually, we can only know the id through psychoanalysis, since it exists entirely within the unconscious mind. It was during his studies on dream-work that Freud developed his understanding of the primary process of the id (Freud, 1923/1960). Since it can be satisfied in unreal ways, if we examine phenomena such as fantasies and dreams we can uncover the nature of the id. Instead, they can be satisfied through dreams and fantasy.īecause the id demands satisfaction, and knows nothing of restraint, it is said to operate as a primary process. This is a very important point, because it means that the id does not need to satisfy its desires in reality. It is highly mobile and capable of discharge, and the quality of the discharge seems to be disregarded. The energy associated with these impulses, however, is different from other regions of the mind. According to Freud, there is nothing in the id except instinctual cathexes seeking discharge (Freud, 1933/1965).
It knows nothing of value judgments, no good, no evil, and no morality at all. The only goal of the id is to satisfy instinctual needs and desires therefore, it acts according to the pleasure principle. The oldest aspect of the psyche is the id, which includes all that we inherit at birth, including our temperament and our instincts. Freud acknowledged this lack of understanding, and went so far as to say that even if we could localize them within the brain we wouldn’t necessarily be any closer to understanding how they function (Freud, 1938/1949). As with levels of consciousness, it is inappropriate to think of the id, ego, and superego as actual structures within the brain, rather they are constructs to help us understand the psychodynamic functioning of the mind. In addition, these three structures begin as one, the ego develops from the id, and later the superego develops from the ego. It is difficult to discuss the two concepts, levels of consciousness and the psychical apparatus (a term Freud used for the id, ego, and superego), without intertwining them. In The Ego and the Id (which also discuss the superego, despite not including it in the title Freud, 1923/1960), Freud begins with a chapter on consciousness and what is unconscious, then follows with a chapter on the ego and the id, and then a chapter on the ego and the superego. It is no accident that our discussion of the id, ego, and superego follow immediately after our discussion of the levels of consciousness.
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