Sigmund Freud A Non Reductive Materialist - 1152 Words

Sigmund Freud is a non-reductive materialist who suggests that conception of a mind is divided between its multiple agencies, the id, ego, and superego. According to Freud, psychological life is an energy system, which has several levels. Hence, energy is experienced as either pleasure or un-pleasure in human behavior. Freud argues that the primary energy source of the mind occurs in the body as instinctive drives, also called as libidinal. These instinctual drives are also known as sexual instincts, which are in a technical sense refers to primary bodily processes, or basic needs of human species. However, there are parental, social interferences, and social norms, which act as repression of instinctual drives. According to Freud, the id is unconscious, made up of instinctive drives or libidinal, subject to social interferences and driven by the pleasure principle. Therefore, id is fully and permanently unconscious. The ego is on the other hand, governed by reality principle where we adopt to our environment, natural and cultural world. It is sort of a defense mechanism that stores in unconscious state. The superego is again largely unconscious; it is a source of guilt or it is best described as conscience, acts as a moralizer, and constantly evolves with culture and community. Freud’s unconscious and conscious systems are related to different functions of the three main structures of the mind, the id, the ego, and the superego. According to Freud, the traditional idea of