What is human nature? This question continues to baffle some of the greatest thinkers of all time. Countless theories of the true nature of human beings have been created. Sigmund Freud made many significant contributions to the understanding of human thought. Freud developed an extremely complex view of the various activities of the human brain. Through his "structural theory," Freud sorted human psychological processes into three major categories; the Id, the Ego, and the Super-Ego. These diverse mental processes expose Freud's pessimistic view of human nature. Freud describes human beings to be inherently selfish and impulsive, with only established societal standards to keep these unfortunate qualities in check. Of the three categories in Freud's "structural theory" I find the Id to be the most telling of his views on human nature. The Ego and the Super-Ego show the effects that society has on human nature. The relationships between the Id, Ego and Super-Ego illustrate how human beings have come to handle their own natural instincts.
Freud described the three distinct mental processes as being dependent upon one another. According to Freud, the Id is driven solely by impulses. The impulses act as natural demands that the Id seeks to satisfy. The Id is not in touch with reality and completely disregards the happiness and needs of others; its exclusive interest is its own satisfaction. The Id, according to Freud, is the only of the three structures that is present at birth. In essence, Freud is suggesting that it is the only one that is entirely natural and not the result of social influence. In the first few years of life human beings have no concept of how their actions affect their surrounding environment; their actions may or may not con ...