20. The Ego Mediates Between the Id and the Superego
The ego is like a referee who keeps the aggressive id and the morally-superior ego from murdering each other. It filters the id’s desires in ways that are socially appropriate so that people can have their desires (usually sexual) fulfilled without acting out on aggressive impulses (those impulses deriving from p-e-n-i-s envy). Yes, Freud really was a dirty old man.
