Sociology

6 Pages 1480 Words

The Ego And Rational Thought
The seemingly paradoxical roles of ego and rational thought can be seen as both opposing functions, and complementary functions, both ultimately of equal importance, and both necessary for the formation of a balanced human being.
The ego can be seen as the primal garden. It contains within it the seeds for rational thought and the grounds from which rational thought may proceed. Rational thought itself, therefore, is the fruit born of ego. Only after the ego has brought forth the existence of rational thought can the next process occur - the formation of the concept of self-realization.
Although identifying the motivational force behind behavior has been micro-philosophized for thousands of years, with various schools of philosophy arguing about what, exactly, motivates the human being to action - egoism to please self, or altruism to please others being primary arguments - the actual underlying motivation for ethical conduct continues to be the same motivation observed by the Ancients. Aristotle observed that love begets love, that the good coming from a person begins first with a core of self-love which is then extended outward. Intertwined within all of the actions, he observed, is a desired state of happiness as opposed to a state of pain. In acting virtuously, one experiences a sense of happiness.
Although the term egoism has developed distasteful flavors over the centuries, ego remains the primal garden that can then be tended by the conscious thought. Ego, even in its most primitive stage, knows well the opposing concepts of pain and pleasure. They are simple concepts to understand.
Like a finely balanced scale with neither tray holding a disproportionate share of motivational fuel, the ego provides first a form of science of in which it perceives a need to preserve itself. It provides functions and maneuvers that are not necessarily in need of conscious thought. After this stage, the r...