Can the Superego still apply?

Question

Freud claims the Superego acts as a policeman between the Id and the Ego. Sartre explained that the Superego would have to have knowledge and be self-aware to do its duty. Despite this criticism, can the idea of a Superego still be seen to apply to human nature?

Answer 1

Is any part self aware in its self in human consciousness. If so we would all be multiple personalities. The superego is a concept used to describe interruptions or hesitancy's in the self that have as relation sociological content. None of the psychological concepts are intended to be interpreted as objective material organs but conceptualized as metaphor for organic descriptive for their own concept; not having that rationalist organization is a negation for concept its self. The negation concept is its self a relation to the ideal perfection in that the non-perfect is desired as not, but the ego does not negate its own object, therefor superego's necessity for an other to apply the negative concept to sociological notions, i.e. property.

Answer 2

In order for Id, Ego, and Superego to still apply to modern psychology, one would have to subscribe to Psychoanalytic Psychology as a whole. Few people do, though, especially not practicing psychologists and psychotherapists. Thus, the concept of a Superego is null.

If, however, you are asking whether the moral compass of humanity at large has changed recently, then I most certainly agree. Our values have shifted considerably over the past fifty years, but whether this is for good or bad, we will have to wait and see.

Answer 3

No. Most of Freud and much of Sarte has been superceded. Among these is the concept of Id and the idea of the superego.

Answer 4

The theory is a construction by humans. Freud, in other works, was clear that these were metaphors and not actual 'things' that exist.

Human nature is also interesting in that we all want to define our behaviours in the world as being "natural" or products of "nature".