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What is the function of the ego?

B

BristolRob

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Feb 3, 2006
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If under psychedelics the ego moves towards dissolution - and we experience this great fluidity of association that we tend to appraise positively - then why has the ego happened?

In evolutionary terms, there must be something about the ego-less state of consciousness that wasn't as favourable to survival as the "ego-full" state of consciousness.

According to some theories, the ego probably developed to constrain behaviours and curtail actions that threatened the cohesion of the clan - these behaviours were probably punished quite freely through death or castration (in case of males).

According to this theory, the idea of original sin is correct - "in the beginning was the deed" - psychedelics take us back to the Garden of Eden prior to the commiting of the act - prior to the evoltionary development of the ego and repression to cover and curtail the primary state of consciousness in which these actions occured

This is based on Freud's ideas as an extention of Darwin's

One major problem with this theory is the question of whether our actions are more primitive and less constrained under psychedelics - I would be tempted to say they aren't - but I do think they can go that way - and might be even more inclined to do so if there was no ego-full state with which to judge the ego-less state
 
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I've heard that the ego develops as a result of your upbringing, tainting your experiences with recollections of related events in the past.

And I've also heard it described as a 'defense' mechanism of sorts; a way to process the thoughts that come into our heads in a productive way, of course we all know that if this is the case then it's a less then perfect defense.
 
Ego is what your mind believes that you are, and what it seeks to protect. It is the false "I" behind the being that you are. It is your minds struggle for a sense of self, sense of identity.

When consuming psychedelics at high enough doses I find that rather than acting more "primitive" I find that I can escape the boundaries of my mind and come into a much less "primitive" state and pass into something of a god like frame of mind...

Thoughts are replaced with awareness and quite frequently awe. Beauty and love permeate through out my whole being. <3 I am floating in the cosmos... I am. (Ive really only experienced ego loss of this proportion from smoking DMT, though LSD and RC's have only let me peek through the doors so far)

Nice topic BRob. <3
 
we experience this great fluidity of association that we tend to appraise positively
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Positive, but not always practical. Sometimes I get off into utterly retarded tangents, or simply unworkable states of mind. The ego limits this and allows me to function in the real world.
 
I like how Terence Mckenna described the ego as being a nexus of short-term strategies for personal gain. He also added "at the expense of the group," but I would say that that is only the case most of the time given the values of our society. As with everything, there are exceptions.

I remember him also saying (these ideas are from taped lectures, btw) that in terms of evolution, we were initially multidimensional beings and that since most threats (predators, etc.) were coming at us in three- (or four-, counting time) dimensional space, our survival mechanisms moved into this space as well. I think he meant for this to be an explanation for why we perceive ourselves as 3-/4-D beings and for why we usually take ego-based reality for being "all there is." I'm not sure I agree with him 100% here, but it's an interesting perspective regardless.
 
just want to add, when my friend I have spoken of had that EXTREME difficult trip he was completely ego-less/in other worlds and he was most def. from our perspective in a "primitive" state of being... growling, screaming, moaning rather then communicating (verbally or telepathically, we were tripping too) he was also biting things... and the very next day I watched an infant.. and guess what it was the same thing.. putting random objects in the mouth?? why?? is it "primitive" I'm not sure... but due to the fact that he wasnt prepared it def. wasnt "enlightening" or anything generally positive for that matter.
 
In my opinion the function of the ego is to increase the odds of an individual organism surviving. To survive the physical world you need to have a conception of yourself and a preference to the survival of yourself. I think that all animals have an ego of sorts. it's just that the human brain is quite advanced, which allows for a much more complete formation of ego than most (all?) other animals.

I also think we are heading to a point in evolution where the ego may be becoming a burden as opposed to an evolutionary advantage. We are becomes less physical creatures and I believe we can evolve to a state where separation between us no longer exists.
 
Xorkoth said:
I also think we are heading to a point in evolution where the ego may be becoming a burden as opposed to an evolutionary advantage. We are becomes less physical creatures and I believe we can evolve to a state where separation between us no longer exists.
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We're morphing into the internet, where individuality will exist as our personal websites, while we all exist as one, which is the www. Robots, not much different than the now.
 
^haha, man.. that scares me a bit.. because i can see where you're coming from on that one

but i defiantly agree with Xorkoth's first statement about the functions of the ego pertaining to an individuals (or organism's) chance for survival
 
Ego is the eternal spoiled child waiting in the wings. Sometimes he takes centre stage, sometimes he is out in the alleys, scrubbing rainbows.
 
5meohd said:
just want to add, when my friend I have spoken of had that EXTREME difficult trip he was completely ego-less/in other worlds and he was most def. from our perspective in a "primitive" state of being... growling, screaming, moaning rather then communicating (verbally or telepathically, we were tripping too) he was also biting things... and the very next day I watched an infant.. and guess what it was the same thing.. putting random objects in the mouth?? why?? is it "primitive" I'm not sure... but due to the fact that he wasnt prepared it def. wasnt "enlightening" or anything generally positive for that matter.
Click to expand...

That's really interesting
 
when i smoked salvia for the first time, i went into a some what primitive state.. i have only done it twice in my entire life, but this really was a wild experience, i had flash back's to childhood, but i seemed to lose my entire ego and cival part of me.
I've never had a chance to discuss it in depth, but after reading the post by 5meohd, it made me thing back.. i somewhat remember crawling around like a baby, with little, to no knowledge of how to speak or communicate without making random noises.
 
I'm of the opinion that the ego is somewhat necessary if you want to fully participate in the physical plane of reality.

Someone without an ego does not take drugs, go to parties, socialize, listen to music, create a sense of personal identity, etc.
 
just want to add, when my friend I have spoken of had that EXTREME difficult trip he was completely ego-less/in other worlds and he was most def. from our perspective in a "primitive" state of being... growling, screaming, moaning rather then communicating (verbally or telepathically, we were tripping too) he was also biting things... and the very next day I watched an infant.. and guess what it was the same thing.. putting random objects in the mouth?? why?? is it "primitive" I'm not sure... but due to the fact that he wasnt prepared it def. wasnt "enlightening" or anything generally positive for that matter.
Click to expand...

Wow...I hope he turned out OK after that.
 
I wonder if we're even talking about the same thing when we refer to the "ego." There's no way to quantify it, and I doubt most people even have a sense having one. It wasn't until I had my ego utterly dissolved by salvia that I even recognized it as an entity within my psyche. Without a way to clearly identify and label such an abstract phenomenon, having discussions about it are a great way to get tied up in knots.
 
ego = the "you" that is constructed by You
ego dissolution = you being the You beyond "you"
 
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