The concept of ego reduction is predicated on the use of
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud ( , ; born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating psychopathology, pathologies explained as originatin ...
's concept of the
ego to describe the conscious adult self; and broadly describes the deflating of an over-inflated or
egotistical
Egotism is defined as the drive to maintain and enhance favorable views of oneself and generally features an inflated opinion of one's personal features and importance distinguished by a person's amplified vision of one's self and self-importanc ...
sense of oneself - a curtailment of what
Iris Murdoch
Dame Jean Iris Murdoch ( ; 15 July 1919 – 8 February 1999) was an Irish and British novelist and philosopher. Murdoch is best known for her novels about good and evil, sexual relationships, morality, and the power of the unconscious. Her fi ...
called “the anxious avaricious tentacles of the self”.
Among other contexts, ego reduction has been seen as a goal in
Alcoholics Anonymous
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international mutual aid fellowship of alcoholics dedicated to abstinence-based recovery from alcoholism through its spiritually-inclined Twelve Step program. Following its Twelve Traditions, AA is non-professi ...
; as a part of
BDSM
BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
play, providing a means of entering "
subspace"; and as a way of attaining religious
humility
Humility is the quality of being humble. Dictionary definitions accentuate humility as a low self-regard and sense of unworthiness. In a religious context humility can mean a recognition of self in relation to a deity (i.e. God), and subsequent ...
and freedom from desire in
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
.
Alcoholics Anonymous
Harry Tiebout saw the surrender of the alcoholic in AA as dependent upon ego reduction, in the twin sense of a relinquishment of personal
narcissism
Narcissism is a self-centered personality style characterized as having an excessive interest in one's physical appearance or image and an excessive preoccupation with one's own needs, often at the expense of others.
Narcissism exists on a co ...
, and the development of a new trust in other people.
Tiebout stressed that this was a process that should be applied only to the (over-extended) infantile ego the surviving remnants of an original
megalomania
Megalomania is an obsession with power and wealth, and a passion for grand schemes.
Megalomania or megalomaniac may also refer to:
Psychology
* Narcissistic personality disorder
* Grandiose delusions
* Omnipotence (psychoanalysis), a stage of ...
that had not been worn away by the normal processes of life.
Therapy
While most therapy favours a process of strengthening the ego functions, at the expense of the irrational parts of the mind, a reduction in self-importance and ego is also generally valorised:
Robin Skynner
Robin Skynner (16 August 1922 in Cornwall–24 September 2000 in Islington, London) was a psychiatric pioneer and innovator in treating mental illness.
As a young man during World War II, Skynner was a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot who flew the ...
for example describing the 'shrink' as a head-shrinker, and adding that “as our swollen heads get smaller... as people we grow”.
Rational emotive behaviour therapy also favours such ego reduction as a part of extending self-control and confirming
personal boundaries
Personal boundaries or the act of'' setting boundaries'' is a life skill that has been popularized by self help authors and support groups since the mid 1980s. It is the practice of openly communicating and asserting personal values as way to pr ...
.
Buddhism
Ego reduction is traditionally seen as the goal of the Buddha's teaching.
However, the goal of
egolessness
Ego death is a "complete loss of subjective self-identity". The term is used in various intertwined contexts, with related meanings. Jungian psychology uses the synonymous term psychic death, referring to a fundamental transformation of the psych ...
(as Buddhist therapists warn) is not to be confused with a mere loss or paralysis of ego functions: it is rather their incorporation ''and'' transcendence.
[Mark Epstein, ''Psychotherapy without the Self'' (2007) p. 79]
See also
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ego Reduction
Freudian psychology
Alcoholics Anonymous