The Nature of Freud, Socrates and Plato

Paper Summary:

According to Freud, human nature is guided by superego and a relative state of morality. On the other hand, Socrates and Plato believe that human nature is determined by reason and absolute standards of morality. This paper guides the reader through the philosophies of these three thinkers to conclude their theories regarding human nature.

From the Paper:

"Freud's entire theory regarding human psyche and nature is based upon the hedonistic principle where superego plays an important role whereas Socrates and Plato believe that man is a rational being and because of this, reason plays the most important part in developing his nature and assisting him in discovering the highest good or finally attaining self-fulfillment. Though Freud believes that man operates on the pleasure principle, he asserts this principle does not allow any relevant space to super-ego. In Freud's three-part model of the mind, the superego assumes the role of conscience, acting as an internal monitor over the actions of the ego. However the role of super-ego as a conscience is limited to its role as a source of guilt. Freud believes that man is not driven by reason but by the super-ego's role as a source of guilt. He asserts that man is only restrained from doing any harm to fellow beings because of the presence of super-ego which is both a conscience and a source of guilt. Since presence of superego will make a man feel guilty in event of a wrong action, Freud believes that this guilt is the primary restraint in human psyche, provided by superego and not reason."

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