ENIGMA
Paradox is when there is a contradiction of conflict of something – the question here is where is the paradox in basic instincts on one hand and the social life norms on the other. What are the reasons for this and is it something we can avoid, change or disregard?
Well..
We start from the postulate that instincts are elements of our most primary and also unconscious part of the being – and they are so powerful that it is sometimes hard to control their drive.
1: a natural or inherent aptitude, impulse, or capacity
2 a: a largely inheritable and unalterable tendency of an organism to make a complex and specific response to environmental stimuli without involving reason b: behavior that is mediated by reactions below the conscious level
Merriam Webster Dictionary
I personally comprehend instincts as the drivers of our Id as part of the Freudian concept of the Id, Ego, and Super-Ego structural model. They are the engine in this system of opposing forces that is behind most if not all of our actions – conscious or not.
Below is a beautiful image of what our being might look like according to this theory. As you can see what we are aware of is only top of the iceberg – the rest is a complex interacting system of 3 main zones of our psyche: ID – EGO – SUPEREGO of which the EGO, according to Freud, the ego is the part of the mind which contains the consciousness.
- The iceberg metaphor is often used to explain the psyche's parts in relation to one another.
- Structural-Iceberg-Model-Freud.png (21.13 KB) Viewed 890 times
Briefly according to Freud:
The Id
The Id comprises the unorganised part of the personality structure that contains the basic drives. The id acts as a pleasure principle: if not compelled by reality it seeks immediate enjoyment. It is focused on selfishness and instant self-gratification. Personality, as Freud saw it, was produced by the conflict between biological impulses and social restraints that were internalised. The Id is unconscious by definition. In Freud's formulation, We all approach the id with analogies: we call it a chaos, a cauldron full of seething excitations... It is filled with energy reaching it from the instincts, but it has no organisation, produces no collective will, but only a striving to bring about the satisfaction of the instinctual needs subject to the observance of the pleasure principle. [Freud, New Introductory Lectures on Psychoanalysis (1933)]
The Ego
...The ego is that part of the id which has been modified by the direct influence of the external world ... The ego represents what may be called reason and common sense, in contrast to the id, which contains the passions ... in its relation to the id it is like a man on horseback, who has to hold in check the superior strength of the horse; with this difference, that the rider tries to do so with his own strength, while the ego uses borrowed forces [Freud, The Ego and the Id (1923)]
“In Freud's theory, the ego mediates among the id, the super-ego and the external world. Its task is to find a balance between primitive drives and reality (the Ego devoid of morality at this level) while satisfying the id and super-ego. Its main concern is with the individual's safety and allows some of the id's desires to be expressed, but only when consequences of these actions are marginal. Ego defense mechanisms are often used by the ego when id behavior conflicts with reality and either society's morals, norms, and taboos or the individual's expectations as a result of the internalization of these morals, norms, and their taboos.”
The Super-ego
The Super-ego aims for perfection. It comprises that organized part of the personality structure, mainly but not entirely unconscious, that includes the individual's ego ideals, spiritual goals, and the psychic agency (commonly called 'conscience') that criticizes and prohibits his or her drives, fantasies, feelings, and actions.
"The Super-ego can be thought of as a type of conscience that punishes misbehavior with feelings of guilt. For example: having extra-marital affairs."
We continue with assemblage of several Wikipedia quotes and articles:
Some sociobiologists and ethologists have attempted to comprehend human and animal social behavior in terms of instincts. Psychoanalysts have stated that instinct refers to human motivational forces (such as sex and aggression), sometimes represented as life instinct and death instinct.
* * *
In Freudian psychology, Eros, also referred to in terms of libido, libidinal energy or love, is the life instinct innate in all humans. It is the desire to create life and favours productivity and construction. Eros battles against the destructive death instinct of Thanatos (death instinct or death drive).
* * *
The death drive ("Todestrieb") is the drive towards death, destruction and non-existence. It was first proposed by Sigmund Freud in Beyond the Pleasure Principle. The death drive opposes Eros, the tendency towards cohesion and unity.”
* * *
A society is a body of individuals of a species, generally seen as a community or group, that is outlined by the bounds of functional interdependence, comprising also possible characters or conditions such as cultural identity, social solidarity, or eusociality. Human societies are characterized by patterns of relationships between individuals that share a distinctive culture or institutions. Like other groups, a society allows its individual members to achieve individual needs or wishes that they could not fulfill separately by themselves, without the existence of the social group.
* * *
While we are all members of a society and it is based on a set of rules, known as social norms, we are severely interdependent on all the members as well as the norms that are applied. Society also has its mechanisms to enforce the rules so they are obeyed:
Social norms are the behavioral expectations and cues within a society or group. This sociological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors." These rules may be explicit or implicit. Failure to follow the rules can result in severe punishments, including exclusion from the group." They have also been described as the "customary rules of behavior that coordinate our interactions with others." The social norms indicate the established and approved ways of doing things, of dress, of speech and of appearance. These vary and evolve not only through time but also vary from one age group to another and between social classes and social groups. What is deemed to be acceptable dress, speech or behavior in one social group may not be accepted in another.
* * *
Social norms can also be viewed as statements that regulate behavior and act as informal social controls. They are usually based in some degree of consensus and are maintained through social sanctions. In order to explain the content of normative rules, three different models are identified:
• Focus on the actions of one's personal ego,
• Focus on ego's reactions to actions of alternative, and
• Negotiation between ego and alternative.
Norms are rules of behavior. They exist as both formal and informal norms, but often the later is found to be more strong and reinforced.”
So after this introductory can we formulate where the paradox problem comes from ?..
Yes, we have a conflict between the primitive and the elevated part of us, the instinctive and the rationalized, or to say it with another word pair, between the natural and the artificial.
The conflict we may also say is that Modern Human Societies compared two Wild Animal Societies are two differing and contradicting models but we humans still are the so called “Social Animal” – a paradox in itself.
And the burden of all this conflicting directives from the unconscious primitive drives, the super-ego conscience codex and the requirements of the outer world is supported, processed and expressed by our ego.
In an animal society we would let our Id fulfills all its desires and needs, such as sexual, aggressive and pleasure drives and interact with environment without any regards to norms, rationality and order – we would theoretically get or least try to whatever is required by the Id by any direct means. But since we live in a Human social system where we have norms and moral to watch out for it is really hard for the Id to act and react the way it wants – simply because there would be consequences. And not only that – Human societies are based on the presumption that its members will obey some rules (formal and informal) so that the system works and order is present.
As a conclusion we can say that thanks to this paradox our civilization is developing and society evolving.
Let me finish with some more quotes:
It is impossible to overlook the extent to which civilization is built upon a renunciation of instinct.
Sigmund Freud
Poor is the man whose pleasures depend on the permission of another.
Madonna
