Freud and other psychoanalysts believed in the \"superego.\" The superego is con

Question

Freud and other psychoanalysts believed in the "superego." The superego is considered an internalized representation of caregivers or society (i.e., moral conscience), which acts to control the id (i.e., unconscious sexual and aggressive impulses). An example may be a mother who is the primary nurturer of a child and imposes her will on this child when the child has no desire to constrain him- or herself. The child, in turn, internalizes the moral guidance of the mother, which becomes the child's superego in adulthood. You are to consider spiritual and/or religious influences and how they may or may not be linked with Freud's idea of the superego. Could the Holy Spirit or scripture in a Christian's life serve as the superego? Why or why not? Give an example of what you believe in real-life.

Explanation / Answer

Superego can be defined as a set of internalized beliefs and representations of society and caregiver's standard of ideals/beliefs which work to control the id.

Religious ideals and or spiritual influences are a part of society's standard of ideals. They set forth the grounds for ideal behaviour and thoughts thus forming the premise for internal representation as seen in Freud's concept of superego.

Thus, the Holy script or scripture in a Christian's life can serve as a superego as religious scriptures are an important element of society and influences people's judgment of right and wrong to a very large extent. An example of this would be individuals raised in very conservative Catholic families might feel a great amount of guilt if their sexual drive is high as their religious ideals(superego) would refrain them from doing so thus instilling a lot of guilt.

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