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Types of Ego

Each ego, from the wounded to the spiritual, defines our interaction with the world

Hermes Solenzol
Science & Meaning

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Steep ski run and chairlift.
Looking down Wipeout Chute, Mammoth Mountain, California. Photo by the author.

I subscribe to the view that the ego is the part of our mind that directs our behavior, based on our self-conscious emotions of shame, pride and guilt (Lester, 1997; Bastin et al., 2016). The ego is formed by the internalization of the instruction that we receive from our parents and educators.

In a path of self-discovery and self-transformation, it is crucial to understand the role that our ego plays in our lives. While doing this, I came to realize that there may be different types of egos. This is my attempt to classify them.

Survival ego

In the first years of life, children learn that they are something different from their environment. They realize that they have needs: for drink, for food, for sleep, for warmth, for skin contact, for words of affection. On the negative side, they experience pain, fear and distress. All of these experiences are related to their bodies, to their selves.

This is how the most basic ego is formed, what I call the survival ego. It drives us to meet our basic needs and to self-preservation. It is concerned with keeping us safe, warm and fed. Therefore, it responds to the basic emotions of thirst, hunger, pain, pleasure and fear.

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