Intrapersonal conflict. I or the Society?

The human psyche is much more complicated than it seems at first glance. Meeting hundreds and thousands of people on their way, it's hard to imagine that each of them is an entire universe, storing in such a seemingly unsightly vessel; A whole world with its problems, doubts and feelings. This was said by ancient philosophers and doctors, suggesting that human behavior is difficult to predict, and influenced by a huge number of very different factors.

All these factors can push a person to action in different - sometimes opposite - directions. And when a particularly strong confrontation is achieved, a person is completely lost, locked in himself and does not represent in which direction to move on. Such a state of modern psychology is called an intrapersonal conflict .

While it was previously believed that all human experiences are caused by imperfections in our world, modern psychologists tend to see the problem not only from the outside, but also inside the person. The first to notice this was the notorious Freud.

Intrapersonal conflict according to Freud Is a struggle between what a person considers a pleasure for himself, and what is considered morally or just right in society. Usually a person manages to make the right decisions without much hesitation and doubt, but sometimes very difficult situations occur, and the confrontation "it" (the instincts of man) with the "extra I" (morality) causes an intrapersonal conflict . Whichever decision a person takes, he will still suffer from doubts and, perhaps, feelings of guilt. So is there a universal prescription for decision-making in complex situations that can help to avoid an intrapersonal conflict?

Let's try to analyze the conflict. It is impossible to be guided solely by one's own interests. If a person follows this path, he will become a complete criminal, which most people will hate. Even if he does not feel any remorse from his actions, repentance will catch up with him anyway, and an intrapersonal conflict from knowing that he has committed terrible things will flare up with particular force.

It is impossible to get rid of the "super-I", however, it is also impossible to completely eliminate one's own interests, guided solely by altruism. Moreover, a person who betrays himself to a common cause, can be really dangerous. This was noted by psychologists who worked after Freud, who pointed to the horrendous insane behavior of the person in the crowd, especially in wartime. Thus, it is necessary to seek the golden mean.

And this golden mean is based on the principle of taboo. A person knows exactly what he should not do and will never do. However, even a person living under strict internal laws, an intrapersonal conflict can still inflame, if one chooses between two monstrous decisions. A classic example of this situation is the case with the switchman, who had to send his son to death in order to prevent a train accident. In this situation there was no right decision, because in both cases the result was catastrophic for this particular person. And although his son's death meant more to him than the death of strangers, he could not afford to become a murderer.

Fortunately, far from every person has to face such situations, but the intrapersonal conflict, to some extent, is familiar to all. Of course, it is very unpleasant to be in such a situation, but if you have already got into it, try to come out with honor, because according to psychologists, an intrapersonal conflict is necessary for the formation of a person as a person.