Sigmund Freud's concept of personality involves the interrelating actions of the "psyche" (mental) and the "soma" (physical) of man. Focusing on what's in the mind, he was able to conceptualize that interactions within the mind involves three parts that constitute to the nature of man: "id", "ego, and "superego". (Rychlak, 1981)
Rychlak(1981) explains that the id which is located in the "unconscious" area of the human mind, pursues the egoistic desire for "pleasure" and "satisfaction" that may be unreasonable or even barbaric. As Rychlak(1981) quoted Freud, "we call it a cauldron of of seething excitations." Unlike id, which is innately with us at birth, ego on the other hand came to be as "conscious awareness" gradually sinks in man's life. Ego originated from the id, wanting the same lust but differ on the "means" to achieve it. If ego represents good intention, id denotes wild urges, then the superego characterizes our conscience. It is like a "voice" in our heads that's telling us what is right from wrong. When id wants to do something bad, it is superego that desires to reprimand id for thinking such, thus superego is the nemesis of id. The "hedonistic", "sociocultural" and "common sense" characteristics of the mind defines what human nature truly is.
Sources:
Rychlak, J. (1981). Introduction to personality and psychotherapy. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Company.
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