Revisiting Sigmund Freud's The Ego and The Id (1923)

Psychoanalytic theory was a revolutionary study that delves into the concealed part of the human brain: the personality. Also dubbed as psychoanalysis, this theory provides a specific topic that focused into how the personality works. One of them was discussed in Sigmund Freud's book The Ego and The Id (1923) as he describe the three psyches: the id, ego, and superego. Below will be the review of his work as well as how each psyche functions.

Sigmund Freud was an Austrian neurologist that is well known for his psychoanalytic theories, one of which is his book The Ego and The Id (1923) that within the human unconscious mind lies a different type of psyche. Although Freud's psychoanalytic theories are rarely applied in the field of psychology, it is nonetheless still relevant to this day. Especially in the field of literature, most often utilized as a source for article journal and thesis. His theory of unconscious mind is still commonly used for psychoanalysis theory, some of them including the id, ego, and superego.  As the ideas are all about the uncovering of the unconscious thought that a human, Freud thought that the 3 psyches have different responses and consequences.

The id is known as a part of the mind where it is driven by instinct, as the mind reminded oneself that something needs to be fulfilled. This instinct is natural, as human are driven by instinct of survival, or eros, to fulfill their needs, and if not satisfied will lead to tension. Of course, this means that the id is willing to do anything, regardless of the consequences. 

These urges, more often than not can led to some psychotic behaviour such as arousal or anger e.g. the need to punch someone or something in order to release the stress which could have been piling up inside their mind. The id follows the pleasure principle, which drives an individual to seek immediate satisfaction of the urges, and avoid pain or anxiety, this is why the id needs another part of the mind to moderate its actions, which can be handled by the ego.

Meanwhile, both desire and morality can reach an to extreme height if they are not able to be satisfied, hence why both psyche needs to be fulfilled in order to regulate their needs. Which lead to the ego, the psyche which acts as an  intermediary between the instinct (id) and the morality (superego), as the ego is "that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world" (Freud 1923, p. 25). 

The ego has no notion of what is right and what is wrong, it is simply try to satisfy the id while keeping it under the boundary of the real world, so that it is safe and sociably acceptable. Should the ego fails to deliver or reached the id's satisfaction, defense mechanism will be applied, in order to make one self feel better and help warding off unpleasant feeling, otherwise, it can be considered as healthy psyche. The ego thought of rational thinking with the support of the superego, which sides with the moral value of the society.

Contrary to how the id is based on instinct, the superego operates on the morality as a result of one's surroundings. The superego is, however, not simply a residue of the earliest object-choices of the id, it also represents an energetic reaction-formation against those choices (Freud, 1923, p. 32). 

Consequently, the ego-ideal or superego goes against the impulses of the id especially when it becomes overwhelming. The superego is known by two system: the conscience and the ideal self, with the former being more of an 'inner voice', as it warns you when you have done something wrong. Meanwhile, this ideal self is described by McLeod (2024) as an imaginary depiction of oneself on how to behave within the society, how to treat others, while reflecting a good career aspirations. The superego wants the person to be seen as perfect by other people, as it will reward them with pride if one behave properly, although when one falls short of the ideal self, the superego will punish one with guilt.

On the contrary, Sigmund Freud's theory was difficult to approach during its initial appearance. His theory of personality was rather unreliable, one of them was mentioned by McLeod (2018), as the main problem being the case studies were based on studying one person in detail, while his patients were mostly middle-aged women from Vienna (Austria). Hence why using his theories to generalize an individual's symptoms was regarded problematic.. 

Furthermore, Freud's ideas appear to be lacking in support towards the science of psychology, which explained in David Stewart's (2018) statement that there was no evidence related to the id, ego, and superego and their particular aspects of control over the human psyche, despite the recent usage of said terminologies. Many of Freud's theories are related to the unseen part of the brain that is not observable, especially his theory of the id, ego, and superego. For this reason, the three psyches are something that cannot be studied or measured under scientific research as it lacked the practical results.

But keep in mind, despite Freud's theory of the three psyches are very much outdated, it is still holding its relevance when it comes to psychoanalysis including his other theories. Especially for the study of literature, as students apply the theory of the id, ego, and superego to determine a character's personality, or focusing on the conflict between the character either towards the self or others. While it is true that Freud's three psyches theory did not provide an ample empirical evidence in the lab, it is nevertheless still receiving criticism. But apart from that, his theories contributed toward the advancement of neuroscience and cognitive psychology.

References

Freud, S. (1923). The Ego and the id. In J. Strachey et al. (Trans.), The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Volume XIX. Hogarth Press.

McLeod, S. (2018). Sigmund Freud's Theories & contribution to psychology. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/sigmund-freud.html 

McLeod, S. (2025). Freud's Theory of Personality: Id, Ego, and Superego. Simply Psychology. https://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html 

Stewart, D. (2018, November 15). Are Freud and psychoanalysis still relevant? Alliant International University. https://www.alliant.edu/blog/are-freud-and-psychoanalysis-still-relevant