Structure of the psyche according to Freud

Freudism is undoubtedly the most popular trend in psychology, which influenced during its inception, and continues to affect today artists, musicians, writers, and also admires its permeability even to people far from psychoanalysis.

Structure of the psyche

There is a structure of the psyche according to Freud, which gives a very precise answer to all of us in moments of acute spiritual contradictions. It turns out that all our contradictions are even natural.

  1. "It" - according to Freud is the unconscious psyche with which a person is born. "It" is the primary human need for biological survival, sexual attraction and aggression. It is "It" is a passion that leads to the domination of man by animal instincts. Up to the age of 5-6 years, the child is led only by the unconscious "I", who believes that life is only for pleasure. Therefore, children at this age are capricious and demanding.
  2. "Super-I" is the complete opposite of "It" in the psyche of Freud. It is a human conscience, a sense of guilt, ideals, spirituality, that is, over a person. When "It" is suppressed (sexual attraction), "Super-I" allows it to sublimate into beauty, into art. "Super-I" develops in man as he grows up, the influence of social mores, rules, morality.
  3. "I" is the middle between "It" and "Super-I", it is the ego of a person, his realistic nature. The main task of "I" is to create harmony between pleasure and human morality. "I" always smooths the conflict between the two extremes, applying psychological protection.

According to Freud, the function of the defense mechanisms of the psyche is assigned specifically to the "I":

That is, according to Freud, our life is the desire to increase the number of satisfied drives, while minimizing remorse.