Scholar

Sigmund Freud

1856–1939 · Founder of psychoanalysis; conscience as the superego.

Biography

Sigmund Freud explained conscience as the superego — internalised parental and social prohibitions producing guilt — arising from the interplay of id, ego and superego.

Key Ideas

  • Id, ego and superego.
  • Conscience as internalised authority.
  • Guilt as social conditioning.

Topics Appearing In

Exam Importance

The psychological counter to Aquinas in Conscience; note that his theory is hard to falsify.

Works to explore

Use these titles to locate the scholar's argument in context. Edition-specific commercial recommendations are kept on the component reading lists.

  • Freud — Civilization and Its Discontents (by the scholar)