AMD 3 Tony

    I tried to read the biography of Sigmund Freud in German on Wikipedia. I paid the most attention on the "werk" (work) part. (http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmund_Freud) 

    It was fun because I learned many of the terms when I was taking Psych 101, so I could guess the meaning of many words when I was reading. But I did look up some of the words, without knowing which I would have huge problem understanding the sentences.

    In German, the "super-ego", "ego" and "id" are called "über-ich", "ich" and "es" respectively. I find the usage of "es" as the "id" very interesting. When I learned the word "id", all I could think of was the instinctive IDentity. But I look at the definition of "das Es" otherwise. 

    Es bildet das triebhafte Element der Psyche und kennt weder Negation noch Zeit oder Widerspruch.

    This sentence says the "id" is the instinctive element of psyche and knows neither time nor negation or contradiction. It gives me a picture that "es" is just sitting out there and no one can do much about it. The attempt to change it seems futile, which fits the understanding of the concept of "id".