ILLUSION OF CHOICE OR HOW THE EGO FUNCTION WORKS

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

In this text I will share some thoughts about the peculiarities of the Ego-function in terms of the Self theory

First, let's define the terminology. Self concept is a specific concept gestalt therapy … Self is not synonymous with the concept of self in psychoanalytic representation - it is not some essential core that is the result of early identifications, but rather the process of their appropriation. Self has its own structure, which is not fixed, but arises only in the process of contact, therefore it is better to talk about the functions of Self than about its parts. Self is a set of processes that ensure the flow of contact between the body and the environment. This is that unique style of interaction of a person with his environment, which at the moment here-and-now determines his intentionality and inclusiveness, marks the exit beyond the limits of individuality and the willingness to acquire new experience.

Self consists of the following functions. The Id function is responsible for the manifestation of corporeality. We know that any mental phenomena begin in the body, a person is immersed in a continuous stream of undifferentiated bodily sensations, from which a figure of need is subsequently formed. Personality connects the unit experience received by the function Id, into a coherent picture and is its result, that is, a more or less integral identity. Here we are observing not just the well-known binary opposition between the emotional-sensory pole and the cognitive one. Through relationships Id and Personality it becomes clear that not everything that happened can be assimilated as an experience and there is no openness to everything that can become experience. That is, these two functions are capable of mutual influence.

The most mysterious of this trinity is the function Ego … In the traditional sense, it is understood as the function of choice, or making a decision about what is good and what is bad, that is, consistently identifying and disidentifying with those objects of the environment that are suitable for satisfying the need Id. In other words, the subject is guided in his environment using the Ego function, which is a kind of compass arrow pointing in the right direction. Moreover, if the arrow of the compass is always oriented to the north, then in the mental compass, which makes a conscious choice, the north can be anywhere. In other words, a conscious choice is far from always adequate and, moreover, final.

This understanding of the function Ego as a consistent comparison of the need with what the world has to offer in order to choose the most relevant answer from its diversity, it is well suited for describing simple decisions - from which cup I will drink today: red no, black no, yellow yes - but absolutely not suitable for something more complex, especially when it comes to a neurotic situation. That is, a choice that needs to take into account two opposite tendencies, one of which, moreover, is unconscious. As a result, we can observe a situation when a conscious choice not only does not bring satisfaction, but is also a source of mental suffering, since deliberately choosing does not mean supporting just that.

So here I want to make a small but important point. Ego it is not a function of choice, it is a function of recognizing a choice that has already been made in the bowels of the function Id … In other words, the choice is always made unconsciously. Just as awareness of the need is carried out at the end of the precontact phase, so the choice is made before the function starts working. Ego … Which, in fact, either allows you to realize how this choice was made or, in the worst case, comes up with a new choice that is not related to an urgent need. We do not choose what we want, but discovers that we already want.

A simple thought experiment can be used to illustrate this idea. All of us at least once in our life tossed a coin in order to make a choice in situations of equal value. Some of us experienced a slight sense of irrational annoyance and relief if we tried again. Another well-known example is resistance. In resistance, it is not conscious justification that is important, but avoidance of awareness of some of the more important processes.

Most of the difficult choices are made unconsciously, but the choice is considered valid, since it is complemented by a conscious model that distorts the basic decision. If all choices were conscious, then the neurosis model could not fulfill its regulatory function. Thus, the Ego function is more likely to decide what to do with a choice that has already been made.

There is an opinion that freedom is a conscious necessity. I would say that freedom is an ultimate necessity when I cannot help but be who I am. Freedom is the natural state of being forced not to change oneself. The same is the case with the choice. The choice cannot be arbitrary, and if it becomes such, then it is not a choice, but a deception, an avoidance of the choice that did not take place. For the choice, it is necessary that the subject is captured by desire and there can be only one addressee of this desire. Everything else is an illusion of choice, an enumeration of equally indifferent options for avoiding meeting with oneself.

Gestalt therapy works with weakness in the Ego function, which becomes predictable, on the one hand, and overly arrogant when it takes responsibility for the choice on itself, on the other. The Ego function can reduce spontaneity of contact to controlled repetition, and at this point the possibility of making a choice disappears. Then the Ego function needs to be deconstructed and reloaded.