Freud, S. (1923) The Ego and the ID

Freud, in his second theory about the structure of the physic apparatus, distinguishes three fundamental instances. The 'Id', formed by the conscious and unconscious, is the psychic expression of drives and desires. It is in conflict with the 'Ego' and 'Super-Ego'. The 'Ego' is the acting psychic instance and is the mediator between the other two. It tries to conciliate the normative and punitive exigences of the 'Super-Ego' as well as the demands of the 'Id' to satisfy unconscious desires. Its function is to achieve the greatest degree of pleasure in the limits of reality. The 'Super-ego' is the judge of the Ego, and constitutes the internalisation of the norms, rules and parental prohibitions. The specific functions of each entity are not always clear and they are interwoven in many levels and personality is constituted by this model of diverse forces in inevitable conflict.