Free Will And Freud
People are not free and do not have freewill due to unseen forces within the
human mind and areas of the unconscious not aware to us. There are arguments
that go against the principle of freewill in reference to the unconscious. Many
people who have done studies in this area conclude that the unconscious can be
seen or measured, so it is able to exist. According to Sigmund Freud, the
unconscious does exist and the areas of the human mind control and affect our
behavior. Freud also states because of these forces, freewill is prevented.
Freud proposes three aspects of our personality that prevent freewill. They are
the ID, Ego, and the Super Ego. Many People feel they are free and posses
freewill. They do not feel that because of some mechanism in their mind is the
basis for their behavior and actions. They feel that they have the ability to
size up a situation, think about their options, and choose how they will act.
What we do then, is the result of our own deliberate free choice. There are
unseen forces that prevent freewill. These unseen forces along with other
factors prevent us from acting freely. There are two popular elements, the
conscious and the unconscious. The conscious represents things we are aware of,
and the unconscious represents what we are not aware of. When we are conscious
we are aware from moment to moment in our ordinary everyday experiences. For
example, when at work I am aware of everyone and everything in my environment,
phones, fax machine, co-workers, and computers. I will know who is at work and
who is not, I know who has pictures of their children on their desk and who does
not. The conscious element simply allows me to see, feel, and actively be aware.
The unconscious is a powerful element which affects and drives memories and
motives. The unconscious represents an area that is much deeper that the surface
of our mind. An obvious example of the unconscious is our dreams. The
unconscious says things about our lives through pictures and symbols. This
element if recognized will prevent freewill from occurring and can directly
affect our behavior. Thus, the uncurious is a powerful force that affects almost
everything we do. Sigmund Freud proposes three aspects of our personality
structure that directly effects our decisions. The elements that Sigmund Freud
talks about are the Id, Ego, and Super Ego. These three elements play an
important role in our decisions and support the view of not having freewill. The
Id is the source of our basic drives and all of our psychological energy.
Sigmund Freud also states that we all are born with this element. The Id is also
refereed to the pleasure principle, also represents self-gratification. The Id
has two basic drives, sex, and aggression. The Id is the part of us that is
seeking pleasure through the immediate satisfaction of its needs. For example,
if my professor goes into the teacher’s lounge while having a craving for
sweets and there is a plate of brownies on the table, instead of asking if he
can have one, he just takes some without asking. This would be the working
without the benefit of the ego or super ego. In reference to the Id, it is
always trying to satisfy every impulse whenever and wherever, it knows no
limits. The second element of our personality is the ego; Freud relates this as
the reality principle. The ego is the practical side of our personality; it is
aware of what’s possible and impossible and is able to accept limits and to
act in a practical way. The ego’s main purpose is to figure out appropriate
ways to satisfy the id’s desire. In a since the ego is like congress and the
id is like the president. The president can not take major actions without the
approval of congress. In the case with the professor taking the brownies it
would be the ego saying “stop” and ask if these brownies are for everyone,
maybe I should ask for permission first. In short the id supplies the power and
the ego supplies the control. The reaction of the two act as a driving force in
which our decisions are made, thus eliminating freewill.
