ABSTRACT
This chapter is divided into two sections; the first reviews literature that documents the historical development of Freud’s concept of the superego in an attempt to capture the broadest sense in which it is still held to be viable “currency” and if not, why not. This review throws up two recurring dissatisfactions with the 1923 theory: the first dissatisfaction is that the dropping of the protective function of the ego ideal, defined in “On Narcissism”, was a critical omission in the original definition of the oedipal superego. The second dissatisfaction is that the formulation is contradictory in stating that both the values of the superego and of the ego are dominant. A review of the literature pertaining to the theoretical development of Freud’s concept of the superego shows that ever since the publication of “The Ego and the Id” (1923), in which Freud introduced the concept, contradictions and inconsistencies in the formulation itself have been identified.
