Key Arguments

• Freud states that "the Ego is the part of the Id which, through direct influence of the outside world with the pcpt-cs’ intercession, has changed, in a sense, a continuation of the surface differentiation," defining the ego as a transformed segment of the id.
• He adds that the ego "seeks to bring to bear the outside world’s influence on the Id and its motives, and is committed to the Reality Principle in lieu of the Pleasure Principle, which reigns unchecked in the Id," contrasting their governing principles.
• He writes: "Perception plays a role for the Ego which falls to instinct in the Id. The Ego represents what we can call reason and prudence, in contrast to the Id, which contains passions," mapping them onto familiar vernacular distinctions.
• He notes the ego’s control over action: "The Ego’s functional importance is reflected in the fact that normally it is granted control over the approaches to motility."
• He introduces the famous metaphor: "The Ego thus resembles, vis-a-vis the Id, the rider, which reins the horse’s superior power," but stresses that the rider "often leaving no choice but to drive it where it wants to go, just as the Ego fosters the will of the Id into actions as if of the Id’s own will," emphasizing the ego’s relative, not absolute, mastery.

Source Quotes

The cap sits askew on it, so to speak. It is easy to see the Ego is the part of the Id which, through direct influence of the outside world with the pcpt-cs’ intercession, has changed, in a sense, a continuation of the surface differentiation. It also seeks to bring to bear the outside world’s influence on the Id and its motives, and is committed to the Reality Principle 42 in lieu of the Pleasure Principle, 43 which reigns unchecked in the Id.

It is easy to see the Ego is the part of the Id which, through direct influence of the outside world with the pcpt-cs’ intercession, has changed, in a sense, a continuation of the surface differentiation. It also seeks to bring to bear the outside world’s influence on the Id and its motives, and is committed to the Reality Principle 42 in lieu of the Pleasure Principle, 43 which reigns unchecked in the Id. Perception plays a role for the Ego which falls to instinct in the Id.

It also seeks to bring to bear the outside world’s influence on the Id and its motives, and is committed to the Reality Principle 42 in lieu of the Pleasure Principle, 43 which reigns unchecked in the Id. Perception plays a role for the Ego which falls to instinct in the Id. The Ego represents what we can call reason and prudence, in contrast to the Id, which contains passions. All of this coincides with well-known popular distinctions, but it is also only right to understand on average or ideally.

All of this coincides with well-known popular distinctions, but it is also only right to understand on average or ideally. The Ego’s functional importance is reflected in the fact that normally it is granted control over the approaches to motility. The Ego thus resembles, vis-a-vis the Id, the rider, which reins the horse’s superior power, with the difference that the rider tried this with its own forces, while the Ego borrowed its.

The Ego’s functional importance is reflected in the fact that normally it is granted control over the approaches to motility. The Ego thus resembles, vis-a-vis the Id, the rider, which reins the horse’s superior power, with the difference that the rider tried this with its own forces, while the Ego borrowed its. This analogy goes a bit further.

This analogy goes a bit further. As the rider, it doesn’t want to separate from the horse, often leaving no choice but to drive it where it wants to go, just as the Ego fosters the will of the Id into actions as if of the Id’s own will. 44 There seems yet another factor as the influence of the pcpt -System encouraged the Ego’s development and its isolation from the Id.

Key Concepts

• It is easy to see the Ego is the part of the Id which, through direct influence of the outside world with the pcpt-cs’ intercession, has changed, in a sense, a continuation of the surface differentiation.
• It also seeks to bring to bear the outside world’s influence on the Id and its motives, and is committed to the Reality Principle 42 in lieu of the Pleasure Principle, 43 which reigns unchecked in the Id.
• Perception plays a role for the Ego which falls to instinct in the Id. The Ego represents what we can call reason and prudence, in contrast to the Id, which contains passions.
• The Ego’s functional importance is reflected in the fact that normally it is granted control over the approaches to motility.
• The Ego thus resembles, vis-a-vis the Id, the rider, which reins the horse’s superior power, with the difference that the rider tried this with its own forces, while the Ego borrowed its.
• As the rider, it doesn’t want to separate from the horse, often leaving no choice but to drive it where it wants to go, just as the Ego fosters the will of the Id into actions as if of the Id’s own will.

Context

Middle of Chapter II, where Freud spells out the functional and economic differences between ego and id and introduces his canonical rider–horse analogy.