The structural hypothesis
Having dealt with the basic principles of “psychic determinism,” and the “unconsciousness,” which Freud discovered, we shall go on to discuss the very meaningful proposition of Freud, which is called the structural hypothesis. This hypothesis is presented not as a fact or truth, but as a provisional theory to explain the workings of the mind, in health and disease. It is the division of the personality into three parts:
Id - Pleasure principle
Ego - Reality principle
Super ego - Morality principle
We have already seen that we are biological organisms, unconsciously reacting to stimuli from the environment. This reaction is first cognitive, in that we perceive some object or occurrence in the environment, and then we interpret what we perceive as pleasant, unpleasant or dangerous. According to how we interpret what we perceive, an emotional arousal takes place, such as a desire for the pleasant object, a hatred of the unpleasant object or a fear of the dangerous object. This leads to tension which makes us uncomfortable. This discomfort forces us to release the tension in action, to obtain what is desired, to get rid of what is hated, to run away from what is feared. Once the tension is released, we feel comfortable again. This way we return to the original equilibrium. This tendency of the mind to release tension and come to a comfortable state of equilibrium, Freud called the pleasure principle. This was why Freud defined pleasure as the release of tension. Both the mind and the body tend to return to the original equilibrium, when disturbed. This tendency is also called homeostasis. The original state of equilibrium that one returns to is what is called mental health.
Just as the body fails to return to equilibrium when there is an obstacle to it such as a bacterial or virus infection, a congenital defect, or an accidental injury; similarly, our mental process fails to return to equilibrium if there are obstacles such as, not being able to obtain what is desired, not being able to get rid or what is hated, and not being able to run away from what is feared. This inability to release tension is what is generally called unhappiness, Freud called it “unpleasure,” and the release of tension is what is generally called happiness, Freud called it “pleasure.” Usually, we are not aware of this process in its entirety, we are aware only of our compulsive urge, the discomfort when it is not carried out, and the comfort when it is carried out. Freud pointed out that we also tend to defend these urges at all costs, if we feel guilty about them. We tend to hide them by means of various defensive mechanisms such as rationalization.
Here, the Buddha is in agreement with Freud. These defensive mechanisms are called vancana dhamma in Buddhism. The Buddha pointed out that we also tend to personalize this urge thinking: “this urge is mine,” “I desire,” “I hate,” or “I fear.” The emotional urge, with its tension, that compulsively seeks release in action is what the Buddha called tanha (usually translated as craving). He saw that this urge was compulsive (nandi raga sahagata), repetitive (ponobhavika), and variable in object choice and satisfaction (tatra tatra abhinandani).
Freud thought this urge was instinctual, which meant it was inborn and therefore unavoidable, but he described it in the same words: compulsive, repetitive and variable in object choice. Freud called the compulsive urge the id, which is the Latin for the word “it.” Freud placed the emotional urge in the neuter gender because it was a mechanical process. The infant’s personality is mainly the id; this is why the infant is referred to as “it.” The infant does not think rationally. It is unable to satisfy its desires without help from the mother or the baby sitter. Freud saw that the id was seeking pleasure and avoiding pain. He saw this tendency as the “pleasure principle.” In other words, the id was dominated by the pleasure principle.
As the child is brought up in society, and trained to behave, he is taught what is right and wrong, good and bad, and thus a conscience is built up, which makes him feel guilty when he makes a mistake in behaviour. This conscience will often prohibit him from getting what is wanted, getting rid of what is not wanted, and running away from what is feared. It is this conscience that Freud called the superego. Some Christians identify the conscience as the “promptings of God.” Freud rejected that concept, although he called it the “super-ego.” He saw it only as a carry-over from the culture in which the child is brought up. Therefore the superego was dominated by the “morality principle.”
As the child grows up, and develops the brain, the rational faculty develops, enabling him to find his way around, and even to get what is wanted, to get rid of what is not wanted, or to run away from what is feared. Freud called the rational faculty the ego, meaning “self.” By this word he did not mean a real entity such as a “soul.” For him the ego was only a faculty, which is the mental process of thinking or reasoning. It is probable that he used this word due to the influence of Descartes who said, “I think, therefore I am.” This ego that can think and reason out, and become aware of the world around, Freud thought, was dominated by the “reality principle.”