Know Thyself, 8: The Ego

 

Know Thyself, 8: The Ego

I saved this pesky piece of the Psyche for the last discussion because I have much to say about it. First, I should explain my own understanding of its definition. It is not the “I, alone”, or the “I, separate from others”. It is the “I, as compared with others”. It naturally enters into any one-to-one competition, where the goal is to demonstrate superiority over the adversary. Competitions like tennis, parlor games, fist fights, debates, and legal battles in the court room can fall into this category. More examples include the competition to become the starting quarterback on the football team or the class valedictorian in the graduating class. It is true that in some of these situations the “I” must compete against more than one competitor which often, but not always, makes his problem more difficult.

A competitive situation can have a positive effect on the individual. For example, if Jim finds that Bob has made a better grade on Chem.101 than he did, he may be disappointed in himself because he realizes that he let his studies lapse. But he is confident that he can be at the top of the class, and so he becomes motivated to work harder in Chem. 102. The same principle applies in other areas, like sports and art competitions. The Ego can provide a motivation to strive harder.

Also, it should be emphasized that competitions don't necessarily involve the Ego. When a couple of buddies play checkers, and never get upset when the adversary wins, but just clear the board and begin a new game, then they are truly enjoying themselves, and their friendship grows. Similarly, if a group plays a card game like bridge or penny ante poker as a friendly pastime, and no one becomes upset, then friendships are built and strengthened.

Team competitions also have a positive result if they don't incorporate the Ego. When a team works together in the spirit of comradeship (one for all and all for one) then the resulting group spirit is beneficial to the soul. The Ego enters if one member on the team decides to outshine another member.

The Ego can be detrimental to the character at almost every level. Even in parlor games, if someone can't win without gloating, or lose without bitter thoughts, then the accompanying bad emotions affect his physical and mental health. Also, he becomes less attractive as a friend or companion. If he competes with members of his own team in group competitions, then he hurts the cause that the group serves. As an extreme, this problem can occur in warfare. In reading a number of books on WWII events and personnel, I learned that American generals competed with one another, or with the generals of other Allied nations, to capture a major city or battle site. In the rush, soldiers were required to move into harm's way before the defense positions were weakened by artillery bombardment and air strikes. But the motivation for the rush was provided by the Ego, because each general wanted his name in the history books as the one who won the battle. Rivalry also existed between the army and the navy, and air power was slow to reach its full potential because the army and navy seemed reluctant to take advantage of it in the early years of our involvement in the war. Most of this incompetence was due to the reluctance of officials to cede credit for military accomplishment to other officials, or units.

In the Korean and Vietnam Wars, battles were fought, and lives were lost, for reasons that had more to do with political and diplomatic factors than their military importance. The negotiators got the headlines, but the soldiers lost lives and limbs. The Chuck Norris film “Good Guys Wear Black” was not entirely fictional.

The Nietzschean concept of the Ubermensch was used by Hitler to convince the Germans that they were invincible, with the result that millions of lives were lost in WWII. Muhammad convinced his followers that he was a God appointed prophet, and thereby justified and ordered the murder of adherents to other religions, as infidels.

Those are some examples of the kind of destruction that can be caused by overemphasis on the Ego. But our major concern here is effect that the Ego has on the individual who identifies too strongly with it; the individual who can rightly be called an egotist. A true egotist identifies so strongly with the Ego that he suffers a kind of death if he loses even a simple argument; and so he will fight fiercely to win, often resorting to citing irrelevant or false data and “expert” opinions from public figures who are just as misinformed as he. He will engage in shouting, name-calling, ridicule, and even threats. When he is proved to be wrong, he may stop arguing, but will not admit that he was wrong, because to do so would be a sign of weakness.

And that is not the end of it, because the Egotist is not the type that laughs off a defeat, or retreats to a corner to sulk. Typically, he will seek revenge; not in the form of a direct confrontation, but by more devious means. He seeks for flaws in the words or deeds of his enemy, and then, when that enemy is not present, he reveals them to others, magnifying them in number and importance. He is not likely to have trouble finding allies in this clandestine operation to sabotage the character of his enemy, because the appeal of the Ego is so strong that there will almost certainly be some who will enjoy elevating themselves by debasing another.

This inability to concede a point and admit that another is right is destructive in many ways. For example, a nice social club that I once belonged to was destroyed by two ladies who couldn't come to an agreement. One was the elected president of the club and the other was a representative of the organization that owned the meeting place. The latter lady insisted on micromanaging the club meetings, but the president refused to yield that authority. After several bitter arguments, the club died because it no longer had access to a meeting place.

Anyone who is in a position that precludes contradiction is subject to the temptations of the Ego. A worker feels obligated to laugh at his boss's jokes, and is reluctant to tell him that he is wrong, even if he is dangerously wrong. Students must laugh at the professor's jokes. A congregation defers to their minister in the same way, and it is unlikely that a church member will contradict him on a dogmatic theological point. In such a leadership position, one is tempted to confer a higher status on himself than he rightly deserves.

The Egotist finds various ways to call attention to his elevated level. He may practice “conspicuous consumption” - spending money on items or activities whose primary function is call attention to the fact that he can afford them – even if he secretly has to deprive himself of important needs. He may easily become a slave to his possessions by spending his time taking care of service and repairs, negotiating with contractors, etc. He may seek to gain respect as an intellectual by gaining a superficial level of knowledge in various fields. For example, he may subscribe to Popular Science magazine and watch celebrity science TV shows, like Nova and Cosmos, and by transmitting to his peers some of the things that he has seen and heard, gain a reputation as knowledgeable about science – all without ever having taken a single course in biology, chemistry, or physics, and without any true understanding of any of it. Or, he may take a course in Art History and be able to associate a few artists' names with some of their more famous works, with no depth of understanding or appreciation of art as an aesthetic experience.

The Ego has such tremendous appeal that it can corrupt both a successful person and an unsuccessful person. One who is unsuccessful may harbor an inner inferiority complex, but instead of working on solving the problem by finding and strengthening his own capabilities he turns to the Ego, who solves the problem by debasing those that are successful. And he thereby becomes a slave to the Ego. He expends both time and financial resources in maintaining his desired persona. In his effort to elevate himself by searching out and pointing out the flaws of others he drains himself emotionally and loses self-respect. He may live with a constant inner fear that he will someday be exposed as a mere intelligentsia wannabe. And the irony is that all of this effort is, in reality, meaningless. All of his attempts to disparage another may change perceptions of that person, but it is not going to change that person one whit. And all of his attempts to create a false impression of himself will not change his true self in any way. He could abdicate the Ego and retire to the Self and the Higher Self, and make those decisions that will lead him to a truly higher state and a meaningful life.

But the seductive attraction of the Ego is so strong that it has corrupts the character of many individuals who are successful and have demonstrated their ability through personal accomplishment. Such an individual may see that accomplishment as an indication of innate superiority, and so become a kind of elitist, or even a Nietzschean superman. Even Jung, who helped many others improve their lives by following the guidance of the Higher Self, fell prey to the Ego and chose it over the Higher Self. The Higher Self told him that his “knight in shining armor” symbol was the Ego, who would corrupt him, but the Ego told him that the knight symbol indicated that he was a prophet, who could see the future of history. Jung chose the Ego, and saw himself as beyond good and evil, and that attitude was reflected in his personal life.

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