I was a psychology major. In fact, I lack 2 classes for my degree. So it was not a passing fancy. I have always been intrigued by the brain and its function. In some ways, the knowledge gained has served me well, both as a parent and a teacher.
Sigmund Freud, father of modern psychology, was a bit of a whack job at times, but he was one of the first to dig into matters of the human brain and why we behave as we do. He developed the concept of the id, the ego and the superego.
Bottom line is this. We all want. We desire things. Sometimes, those things are not what is good for us. That old lady waiting for the bus, the crying baby at the store, the young school kid on the playground- the one thing they have in common is they are filled with desire. They all want something. This is id.
We cannot live our lives always chasing want. We have to develop ourselves to figure out what is necessary- such as water and food. We have to figure out who and what are detrimental to our well being. We have to learn we cannot have everything we desire. This is ego. It negotiates with id, and keeps him in line.
And finally, we have our conscience, aka superego. If ego wants to give into id, just a little, superego goes all Judge Judy on him. She is the gnawing guilt we feel when id's ridiculous wants interfere with reality. We need to have a conscience, but sometimes I wish mine would shut the Hell up.
Someone once said that evil men do what good men only dream of. Guess I just keep dreaming......
No comments:
Post a Comment