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Freud’s pleasure principle is the id, which seeks gratification and is balanced by the ego and superego to prevent self-destructive behavior. Aristotle’s “rational principle” separates humans from animals in seeking pleasure without morals.
In psychology, the pleasure principle is part of Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalytic theory involving subconscious or unconscious motivation. According to Freud, the id is the pleasure-seeking and instinctual part of the mind. While the ego component of the mind strives to keep the id realistically and intelligently in check, the id itself is unable to be rational, only to gratify itself. In two of the essays that Freud began in 1920, “Beyond the Pleasure Principle” and “The Ego and the Id”, he elaborates on his psychoanalytic concepts.
Freud’s concept of the pleasure principle was heavily influenced by Aristotle’s work “Physics,” which states that human beings, like animals, are instinctively directed to seek gratification and avoid pain. Aristotle affirms that what separates, or should separate, man from animals is “a rational principle”. According to Aristotle, although humans and “brutes” are both innately driven to seek gratification for hunger, thirst and sexual urges, people should not, and should not, be morally driven by these instinctive needs. The “rational principle” that humans have balances the primary drive for pleasure without morals.
In Freud’s psychoanalytic approach, the ego balances the id to prevent people from becoming totally selfish and self-destructive. Primal impulses can be balanced with common sense. Intelligent thinking can override the pleasure principle. While the ego is organized and rational, the id is disorganized and impulsive.
The third element involved in the functioning of the mind in Freud’s theory of the id and the ego is the superego. The superego goes one step ahead of the ego in managing the id that seeks gratification. Rather than being the sole voice of reason, it is also critical. The superego causes guilt or anxiety if the id’s pleasure-principle drive goes too far, such as if the individual cheats on his or her spouse. In this way, the superego is the “moral principle”, while the ego is the “reality principle” and the id is the “pleasure principle”.
The id is balanced by both the ego and the superego so that the drive for pleasure is guided by reason and morals. Studies have supported the claim of Aristotle and Freud that animals do not possess the natural ability for self-control as humans do. If balance is not there in a person, the individual has no or limited self-control and is often unable to control their impulses. It should be noted that not all people believe in a balance of the pleasure principle. For example, hedonism is a philosophy that basically holds that pleasure over pain is good in and of itself.
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