Ego
Id
An interesting article by Paul Bloom in the Atlantic, alas I’m a bit late the article was published a year ago:
‘The question “What makes people happy?” has been around forever, but there is a new approach to the science of pleasure, one that draws on recent work in psychology, philosophy, economics, neuroscience, and emerging fields such as neuroeconomics. This work has led to new ways—everything from beepers and diaries to brain scans—to explore the emotional value of different experiences, and has given us some surprising insights about the conditions that result in satisfaction.
But what’s more exciting, I think, is the emergence of a different perspective on happiness itself. We used to think that the hard part of the question “How can I be happy?” had to do with nailing down the definition of happy. But it may have more to do with the definition of I. Many researchers now believe, to varying degrees, that each of us is a community of competing selves, with the happiness of one often causing the misery of another. This theory might explain certain puzzles of everyday life, such as why addictions and compulsions are so hard to shake off, and why we insist on spending so much of our lives in worlds—like TV shows and novels and virtual-reality experiences—that don’t actually exist.
(…)
The notion of different selves within a single person is not new. It can be found in Plato, and it was nicely articulated by the 18th-century Scottish philosopher David Hume, who wrote, “I cannot compare the soul more properly to any thing than to a republic or commonwealth, in which the several members are united by the reciprocal ties of government and subordination.”
(…)
We benefit, intellectually and personally, from the interplay between different selves, from the balance between long-term contemplation and short-term impulse. We should be wary about tipping the scales too far. The community of selves shouldn’t be a democracy, but it shouldn’t be a dictatorship, either.’
Perhaps I’m a naïve but is the community of selves fundamentally different from Freud’s id, super-ego and ego?
Freud is talking about different levels of still one personality,
while Hume/Bloom is talking about multiple personalities, each with their own id, ego and super-ego.
What do you think?
Freud
It does seem similar to Freud's idea. But it also sounds less insightful. Every inconsistency is translated into a different self in the community of selves. What does that idea get us? I get a sense that this trivializes these inconsistencies. In a community, inconsistencies are inevitable and accepted. You could then see psychology as the study of systems of government. That would be interesting, but this framework itself does not provide such a theory of government. It seems to end right were the interesting ideas start. This is what I always liked about the idea of Freud: it is a theory about a system of government, which first designates specific roles (or selves) and then thinks about how they interact.Triune brain
Indeed a very old and interesting discussion.All to do with the physiology - also called the schizophysiology - of our brain: a 'triune brain':
brainstem (lymbic system) - reptile part (instincts) - mammal part (emotions).
This triumvirate of id-ego-super-ego inevitably leads to this conglomerate of selves.
All to do with fractals and chaotic processes in human behaviour as well, and with consciousness and language.
Good reads on this subject:
- Carl Sagan: The Dragons of Eden.
Speculations on the Evolution of Human Intelligence (1978)
[Mottos: 'Mankind is poised midway between the gods and the beasts.' Plotinus
'I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls.' Job 30:29]
See especially Chapter III:
'The Brain and the Chariot'
[On this triune brain / Freud / Plato's Phaedrus]
- Pieter Vroon: Tranen van de krokodil.
Over de te snelle evolutie van onze hersenen [1993]
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Since I read the article, when I doubt, I can feel the war going on in my head.
Michel and Z!
I'm not sure what is the gain from Bloom's insights compared to Freud's id, super-ego and ego.Hesper
Thanks! You might be a dilettante but as a name-dropper you are trully professional. What's more you give name-droppers all over the world a good name.By the way, it is 'truly', not 'trully professional'.
Bert
Typing fast causes errors but saves time -- since you are there as dilettante copyeditor I sleep well. Economically I believe this is a sound decision. (I did change dilettante, I overlooked 'truly').spelling, never mind
? 'dillettante (in my RSS feed) - dilettante' (in the blog itself).? The extra l was moved to truly ?
Hesper
For some reason my last comment was placed before your comment. I guess this is due to the date and time function on your computer.date & time
I doubt it has anything to do with my date/time function, which is just normal and working perfectly.(Now and then even adjusted to the second through the 'atomic clock' program I have installed).
[http://www.google.nl/search?client=opera&rls=en&q=Atomic+Clock+Sync+v2.7.0.3&sourceid=opera&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8]
However, I notice I can read the most recent posts on the site before receiving them in my feeds.
What happened was: I noticed this spelling difference between feed and real post, which of course is a possibility ever since we have 15 minutes to edit them.
So all sorts of criss-cross might happen when reactions follow each other within a short span of time.
I guess providers may play a part in this as well.
I remember reading an article and quite some comments (posted over several hours) before they showed up in my browser's feeds.
I will be more patient and won't comment on your spelling any longer.
Mr. Bert
First I tell you that I sleep well because I have you as dilettante copyeditor and now you are chickening out?May I ask you a personal question? When do you sleep exactly?
sleep
Mr GrunbergI more or less keep American times: so I sleep in the morning, go to bed at 04:00 ~ 06:00 local time.
And I'm not chickening out, but suspected it might become quite irritating if I continued nitpicking on English/American spelling and grammar.
Hesper
I have a weak spot for passionate dilettantes.Arnon, Bert
Comments are sorted based on the date on the server. At the time you were commenting, time changed to daylight savings time, the hour between two and three started again and apparently a reply was placed before initial comment.The server lives on Amsterdam time.
