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The first rule of thumb is understanding the historic appearance and cultural dynamics of both the terms ego and self in there developmental and comparative implications. As an attempt to explicate terms that represent inner psycho-centering drives that have experienced metamorphic changes, we begin with the ego and finally meet the more recent self.

The earlier ego appeared in ancient Rome where loosely it translated with the later English “I” which Romans could not prefer. Romans did not accept the modern concept of individuality that would inhibit one being identified as Roman. One did not say “I am going to the baths” but rather “Going to the baths.”

The idea of not expressing the subject “I” continued throughout the Medieval Christen world since ego dominating as an “I” could not replace the dominance of God, the creator and center of everything and everyone. The favorite term for an interior drive was soul, the place where the divine gifts and dynamics of how one should live by good or evil shaped the finality for those gates opening up or down. This inner force, our soul, could be cleansed after the thirteenth century with a confessional demonstrating the power the church placed on this interior force for one’s identity. This term would continue to be used in the early modern world when the beginning idea of an individual made an appearance with the arrival of the Renaissance. The word ego would continue along with soul until finally the developing term of self began in early modernity with postmodernity embracing its implications.

Egoist, egotistical, egoism, egoistic and six more are examples in the New World dictionary demonstrating both breath and depth of meanings. The reason for this may be that the ego is what we are born with and is transferred into fully developed humans. A new born baby has an ego ready to fly while the un-recognized “I” is applicable for simple health reasons - the baby cries for food and for the cleaning of waste - an instinctual drive. This key element for the operation of the fundamental ego demonstrates how basic it is. There is inherently nothing cognitive when a child’s ego is operational. The pain of one sort or other exists and the baby seeks relief until a response is offered. The ego is simply inherent and bio-chemical.

This changes somewhat and somewhere around the age of approximately eight months depending on each babies chronological development. About now the baby notes a distinction between their own hand from others and the ego begin its own psycho-dynamics in public exposure. This continues as the child now discovers crying and making a scene calling for attention the ego seeks. By approximately six or seven the child has a primitive understanding of an abstraction such as love followed by about age eleven or twelve when the ability to join two abstractions arrives, as with love and death. Most of the cognitive potential appears by the age of pubescence with the final maturation of the brain occurring around twenty-five. The form is finished and the ego finds a place in matured young adults which inherently looks for re-assurance and gratification from the outside world with no two people having the same quantity of an ego drive.

Sports and theater are gratifying for some, playing the game, cheer leader or stage hand, the closer to the applause the better. The conflict, competition for friends and being liked by fellow students cam border on a pathology for a few, perhaps as much a conceit, unless one finds a means to short-circuit the ego. How pathological depends upon one’s egocentric nature, especially where poverty dominates and where there are few outlets for either males or females except as groupies, thugs or in gangs. A sense of power is one means of compensation for a sense of emptiness that may result from feelings that one”s ego has not received the kind of attention it craves.

Vanity may be an example of the ego in action - “look at me” which can mean that no one else matters. Vanity has long been condemned even by those who practice it. This blends in with those who are sinfully vain in offering something for those who feel no inner value - the extreme egoist. Moreover, during the time of the church, God was the only number one and no one could get near him except saints.

An early ego was expressed in the Renaissance when various artists like Leonardo and Michelangelo were expected to place their names on their art. This was only enhanced by the arrival of the printing press at the end of the fifteenth century. When turning to the written word we find Montaigne who created the art form of the Essay and was considered by his peers to be driven by his ego. Here the problem of these two terms becomes interesting because artistic personas generally have both a strong ego and strong sense of self.

This apples to an ego vs. self in Montaigne ( Donals Frame, “The Complete Essays of Montaigne” 1943) as witnessed from the following passage : “And if no one reads me, have I wasted my time, entertaining myself for so many idle hours with such useful and agreeable thoughts? In modeling this figure upon myself, I have had to fashion and compose myself so often to bring myself out, that the model itself has to some extent grown firm and taken shape. Painting myself for others, I have painted inward self with colors clearer then my original ones. I have no more made my book than my book has made me - a book consubstantial with its author, concerned with my own self , as integral part of my life, not concerned with some third-hand, extraneous purpose, like all other books.”(p. 504) While at best confusing in the us of the term “self” that the translator applied to this sixteenth century essay, it may apply because this genius possessed both. His use of “I” is appropriate as it now came into play. His reference to “painting myself” also applies in the revolutionary visual arts. In both cases the temptation is to wonder whether this is not the ego and not singularly some pure expression of the self speaking. One page earlier he said: “Others have taken courage to speak of themselves because they found the subject worthy and rich; I, on the contrary, because I have found mine so barren and so meager that no suspicion of ostentation can fall upon my plan.” As the brilliant inventor of the modern Essay his ostentatiousness has an odor of ego - “I found mine so barren and so meager…” Yet there is the inner potential of the self in the artist.

It is little wonder that in the later Romantic era, Flaubert, who loved Montaigne’s Essays, once noted “his own flintiness in the Essays …, and the reading notes record careful scrutiny of the `egoiste’ Montaigne.” After all, Flaubert was detailed in his notes as he embraced the Essays. As one romantic noted, Montaigne had “been led astray in his youth by`that false philosophy, that finds happiness in selfishness [”I’egoisme”] and wisdom in insensibility.” It is not surprising “for the Romantics…, Montaigne had for some years provided an antitype of generous emotion - the classic` egoiste.” [p.26T.L.S. 10/2/09] Yet how to judge a giant who would offer this title for one of his chapters: “That to Philosophize is to learn to die” (1572-74)? Here one must offer again a voice of caution if not a caveat: Great artistic and brilliant minds who have left us so much to contemplate and share are not easily categorized as either ego or self driven - genius as they are.

It may be easier to look at a fictional but reliable example of an active ego for guidance in making judgements as can be seen from the informative, interesting and remarkable master of great theater, William Shakespear and his infamous egotist Iago, Hamlet’s ultimate manipulator. This is a convenience from which we see if clues can offer distinctions between where the ego and then the self dominate. We all have egos including great artists as well any genius; that is not the issue, the issue is which is dominant at any one time. Iago wins but Hamlet has character. The more inside one’s inner being the more likely the self , the more the outside, the ego. Again we have both potentially: did Iago have both?

The ego survival is revealed by the many in the public eye who cannot live without accolades for their significance. This should not seem strange to anyone since we all have this inherited characteristic, although some with a great deal more, others with only a small amount and many in between. Those of little or less egos could become saintly, dedicated givers to the poor and disadvantaged. The issue is not in having an ego but rather is there more. The more competitive the more one panders to the ego, not a bad thing in itself - competition does have its place, but only in a limited and channeled expression of that potential. . Even here it should be noted that the self can come into play, even in a small way as one listens to successful actors or actresses when you sometimes hear the self behind the ego. It was for the first time in 1828 the term ego in England began not being equated with the term of self, both becoming separate but confusing at best and at worst distracting .

While the ego is given dominance the self is too weak or undeveloped. The first is a life of social images whereas the self is more interested in an inner becoming and imagination, a process rather than a static state. While the ego is something that is a given, the self is earned through effort, time and introspection. There is no free lunch when it comes to the self just as there is no way one can avoid the inherent ego each has. As the ego suffers from a sense of vulnerability the self has the ability to transform the fearful into an opportunity for discovery and growth - a moment for inner reflection. With imagination the image regarding others’ judgements means little or nothing. The self is what can short circuit the burden that inheres in the ego if one should decide that this should be viewed as a distraction. Many if not most, especially those of great ambition, want this ego as a motivator and touch stone in expanding control and measuring success in their own and other’s eyes. There are too many social activities that could not function without powerful egos from sports and entertainment to politics and being a C.E.O. Basically there is nothing here in itself that needs condemnation. What we should recognize is that our language has greatly been damaged with sloppy and careless usage. The self is the light to glow beyond the ego, to expand one’s inner identity without an audience applauding you. All great artists and thinkers, notwithstanding the size of their particular ego, are driven by something from the inside, by something other than audience approval. Picasso created for himself as did Miles Davis, even with the dynamics of an audience. The singular act of creation is personal and private, satisfying in and of itself. There are many as these although only a few become noticed historically. It is true that most can live without any strong sense of self but none can live without an ego so this is not to say that even famous artists are not in some ways and in various degrees partially driven by their ego. The painter S. Dali was well known for his ego games as were many others - but there is that other side, the creative self, that is of interest. It is suggested here that while we cannot live without an ego, we cannot grow without a self. May the two find a joy together with the self in charge and where the ego does not interfere.

What is it then when speaking of the self? We have self-destructive, self-indulgent, self-negating, self-aware and, of course, self-consciousness. If not enough, there is self-fulfilment, self-expansive, self-reflective and self-introspective as well many more. While the term ego has one expression for expansion, the self expands by adding many other addenda. Ego and self are confused so regularly that it can make anyone constipated pleased. What are some marks for clarity, some space or juxtaposition for these?

Ego is more a public frame whereas self is more the hidden individual. This is why the self is more recent since the idea of individuality with its earliest hints in the Renaissance did not blossom until the nineteenth and twentieth centuries: the self being more modern while the ego has remained classic. The ego inherently seeks out others to bounce off and is also more appropriate for a sense of the collective or community which has been disappearing this past century. Since the self is more independent, given more to individualized demands and not dependent on the judgements of others, it is not only very modern but equally postmodern. For this reason the ego is of a traditional public state of being while the self is a more private process that inheres in the existential.

So where does the self arrive from, where is it’s root and what offers the opportunity for those so drawn to explore it as an inner potential? The title of this essay suggests an answer. A crack can occur for some in their ego, that reflective moment when you open yourself to new questions; when that happens there is a sense of a phenomena deeper, wider and more curious calling for discovery and exploration. This could be called the beginning of the self, although only a beginning. Reflection and introspection can then arrive requiring serious activation of inner expressions and expansion of whatever is behind that curious door. Note the word curious must be an handmaiden of that inner becoming arriving out of the crack of discovery that challenges areas exposed. Born with the ego, we are only offered the potential for becoming self directing. Also note the active verbs used since we speak of an ongoing process and not blind stops on the highway of life.

The inner discovery can occur a variety of ways, one of which is inner conversations where the thinker is talking to themselves about something personal, taking positions as say the pro - say me - then the con - say myself - and then the observer - I - experiencing thoughts of three beings: I was listening to me talk to myself . This break from simplistic dualism offers entry into a more complex triad that potentially exists in someone becoming - past, present and future at once. When this triad is realized the potential for a human triune is made accessible, a human coin where the three sides makes a whole but ever changing value. This is but a beginning, for wherever one is as a self it is always a beginning towards one’s last breath, and even at that very last moment it is still only a beginning.

Is there a tool in all this that can aid this crack to grow into this powerful sense of an individualized self? Perhaps. Along with the coming of a self out of the crack there is the mental state of unbelievable proportion arriving in wait to be used by this new becoming. Consciousness, not just awareness, or having a memory or thought, but something larger than the collective of these ideas, becomes so introspective that the center of the universe is inside a transcendence that has gone beyond the everyday. In every way it enters new realms of becoming, an existential freedom so pure that nothing can touch that moment so personal and yet so powerful that anyone and anything outside are just that, outside, only relevant by choice. This has been called a form of madness for some people who use the term “self-conscious” when really meaning “ego-awareness” unless they were to have an understanding of both these terms with deep introspection.

The New World Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition, lists ego and another nine various expressions of it, four versions noted. For self, there were 144 citations of various forms some mentioned including three additional not mentioned in the dictionary, i.e. self-engaged, self-expansion and self-developed, all evident in meaning. These three reflect an inner becoming that can be processed. Self-conscious is also self-evident as are all the rest. Self-fulfilled, self-expressed , self-explanatory, and self-devotion require something other than an ego as does self-determination , self-definition , self-esteem , self-expression and self-contained. To have an inner self with consciousness means self-control without any self-deception which could end in self-defeating which is only avoided by working on one’s inner self-definitions with self-defense. One could go on but this picture has enough paint to fill the canvas with clarification and confusion as well self-presentation. The self is a big word because it is the center of the modern and postmodern psyche along with consciousness.

To finish with an example we have a contemporary of note who may demonstrate the power and danger of the ego, the discovery of the self and the usefulness of consciousness. Because his “Red Book” is being made available there is an introduction to it (N.Y.T. Mag. 9/20/09) by Sara Corbetto titled “The Holy Grail of the Unconscious. What the Unearthing of Carl Jung’s Red Book is Doing to the Jungs and the Jungians (and maybe YOUR DREAMS)”. Our interest is in the insights regarding his transformation from having major mental problems to coming into the open with a stronger interior and relative balance.

What first must be understood are elements of the language in this piece regarding Jung and his own proclivities which the author offered: “Man skids mid life and loses his soul. Man goes looking for soul. After a lot of instructive hardship and adventure - taking place in his head.”(p.36) While the use of the term “soul” was favored by Jung it should be understood to mean his inner being since his idea of soul was not Christian. Perhaps this curious use of soul was a precursor for the creation of self. This raises an interesting thesis as to whether the ancient soul that dominated western religious thought regarding the change and value of behavior, good and bad, was the early beginnings of a contemporary self. Did each historic change move metaphorically first from ego followed by memory or past history with inner moral discoveries - the soul, eventually offering a basis for a mature identity following and flowing through the self? Is this but another door to the postmodern world? It could be that most thought in terms of a soul throughout history until the idea and word self began to offer a relevant and dynamic alternative. How interesting if not enlightening it would be if someone wrote a scholarly study analyzing the evolution of this transformation from historic literature to our own era. Would the dynamics of the soul tied to a deity when released from that deity be seen as a change in living behavior, more earthly than otherworldly, and thus a self in the making, an inner being becoming? Perhaps instead of going to church to pray at the cross and later the confessional to talk to our lord in order to confront and understand our soul, we today could look in the mirror to contemplate that inner dynamic that seeks understanding and expansion. As the postmodern world evolves we use the term soul in many new ways including “soul brothers”, “soul mate”, “soul music” and “soul food”. What was a Christian icon now becomes a hip term not unlike “cool”.

When Jung went through his mental crises which he records in his “Red Book”, he looked primarily to his dreams, a form of a mirror for him, to see moments of his anxious state as well any clues beyond. The language used here from the essay offers an opportunity to review the confused state and language of a genius who wandered from a dominance of his ego to the creation, expansion and intellectual exploitation of his self and his growing health supporter - self-consciousness.

The term consciousness like that of self are huge in being misused terms carelessly applied and thus more confusing then enlightening. Most people using conscious states mean aware or cognitive states. Jung seems to have crossed over although he still subscribed to “sub-conscious” for habitual but non-cognizable thoughts, memories or impressions.

It is remarkable that we grew from the ego in antiquity even before the term appeared. Egyptian kings being too important were immortalized with life after death followed by the Roman ego then soul. From here is the long story of the growth of individuality to self. Jung appears to have noted some part of this when it was mentioned according to the Times essay that followers of Jung had “goals of self-discovery and wholeness - a maturation process Jung himself referred to as `individuation.’ Perhaps as a result, Jungian analysis has a distinct appeal to people in mid-life.” The points to draw here are profound in that Jung recognized at least two components having to do with developing one’s own sense of inner self : “individuation” or full blown individuality, plus breaking from the traps of ego which are more likely in middle age (”mid-life”), a change in life’s stage where we discover the shortness of the future and arrival of that final curtain for one’s termination. An important caveat: today’s youth, with a history of a growing self- awareness, impacts upon an educational system that operates on the assumption we are all behavioral, thus leaving behind those students who are genetically thoughtful with potentially richer authenticity in that crowded classroom. Each student becomes increasingly more an individual needing special encouragement in the development of their unique self..

There is in Jung’s thinking a break from the modern and an opening to a more postmodern perception of entering our potential realities. His “Red Book” has as its’ “central premise,… that Jung had become disillusioned with the scientific rationalism - what he called `the spirit of the times’ - … he comes to know and appreciate `the spirt of the depths,’ a field that makes room for magic, coincidence and the mythological metaphors delivered by dreams.” The enlightenment glorification of reason has been collapsing and he appears to have found this from his own inner struggling turmoil. The idea that all answers do not come from some form of unified reasoning is a postmodern liberation he began to uncover as he turned to his dreams for answers to dilemmas discovered.

Ego though more applicable for the younger, weakens as we age, facing as adults our shortening development with an expanding history. The self offers a new life no matter what the age.

The crack can come at any time and is an opportunity to discover the basis for a self with the tool of consciousness; the question is when and for whom this may apply.

PAX \ LOVE

This entry was posted on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 6:32 pm and is filed under Ego and Self. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.