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Id ego and super-ego, Wikipedia

Id, ego, and super-ego are the three parts of the “psychic apparatus” defined in Sigmund Freud’s structural model of the psyche; they are the three theoretical constructs in terms of whose activity and interaction mental life is described. According to this model, the uncoordinated instinctual trends are the “id”; the organized realistic part of the psyche is the “ego,” and the critical and moralizing function the “super-ego.” Even though the model is “structural” and makes reference to an “apparatus”, the id, ego, and super-ego are functions of the mind rather than parts of the brain and do not necessarily correspond one-to-one with actual somatic structures of the kind dealt with by neuroscience.

The concepts themselves arose at a late stage in the development of Freud’s thought: the structural model was first discussed in his 1920 essay “Beyond the Pleasure Principle” and was formalized and elaborated upon three years later in his “The Ego and the Id.” Freud’s proposal was influenced by the ambiguity of the term “unconscious” and its many conflicting uses.

The terms “id,” “ego,” and “super-ego” are not Freud’s own but are latinisations originating from his translator James Strachey. Freud himself wrote of “das Es,” “das Ich,” and “das Über-Ich”—respectively, “the It,” “the I,” and the “Over-I” (or “Upper-I”); thus to the German reader, Freud’s original terms are more or less self-explanatory. The term “das Es” was borrowed from Georg Groddeck, a German physician to whose unconventional ideas Freud was much attracted.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id,_ego,_and_super-ego

Denial, Wikipedia

Denial is a defense mechanism postulated by Sigmund Freud, in which a person is faced with a fact that is too uncomfortable to accept and rejects it instead, insisting that it is not true despite what may be overwhelming evidence. The subject may deny the reality of the unpleasant fact altogether (simple denial), admit the fact but deny its seriousness (minimisation) or admit both the fact and seriousness but deny responsibility (transference). The concept of denial is particularly important to the study of addiction. The theory of denial was first researched seriously by Anna Freud. She classified denial as a mechanism of the immature mind, because it conflicts with the ability to learn from and cope with reality. Where denial occurs in mature minds, it is most often associated with death, dying and rape. More recent research has significantly expanded the scope and utility of the concept. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross used denial as the first of five stages in the psychology of a dying patient, and the idea has been extended to include the reactions of survivors to news of a death. Thus, when parents are informed of the death of a child, their first reaction is often of the form, “No! You must have the wrong house, you can’t mean our child!”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denial

Adult, Wikipedia

The term adult has at least three distinct meanings. It can indicate a grown person. It may also mean a plant, animal, or person who has reached full growth or alternatively is capable of reproduction, or one who is legally of age; as opposed to a minor. Adulthood can be defined in biology, psychological adult development, law, personal character, or social status. These different aspects of adulthood are often inconsistent and contradictory. A person may be biologically an adult, and have adult behavior but still be treated as a child if they are under the legal age of majority. Conversely one may legally be an adult but possess none of the maturity and responsibility that define adult character.

Coming of age is an event; passing a series of tests to demonstrate the child is prepared for adulthood; or reaching a specified age, sometimes in conjunction with demonstrating preparation. Most modern societies determine legal adulthood based on reaching a legally-specified age without requiring a demonstration of physical maturity or preparation for adulthood. Some propose that moving into adulthood involves an emotional structuring of denial, suggesting this process becomes necessary to cope with one’s own behavior, especially in uncomfortable situations, and also the behavior of others.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adult

Mental confusion, Wikipedia

Confusion, of a pathological degree, usually refers to loss of orientation (ability to place oneself correctly in the world by time, location, and personal identity) and often memory (ability to correctly recall previous events or learn new material). Confusion as such is not synonymous with inability to focus attention, although severe inability to focus attention can cause, or greatly contribute to, confusion. Together, confusion and inability to focus attention (both of which affect judgment) are the twin symptoms of a loss or lack of normal brain function.

The milder degrees of confusion as pathological symptoms, are relative to previous function. Thus (for example) a mathematician confused about manipulation of simple fractions, may be showing pathology which would not be diagnosable in a person without training in this area. Thus, as with the case of delirium, the minor degrees of pathological confusion cannot be diagnosed without knowledge of a person’s “baseline”, or normal, level of mental functioning.

Confusion may result from a relatively sudden brain dysfunction (see delirium). It may also result from chronic organic brain pathologies such as dementia. In either case, confusion is usually associated with some degree of loss of ability to focus attention, but (as noted) the association is not invariable, especially for lesser degrees of impairment.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mental_confusion

Darkness, Wikipedia

Darkness is the absence of light. Scientifically it is only possible to have a reduced amount of light. The emotional response to an absence of light has inspired metaphor in literature, symbolism in art, and emphasis (in what?).

A dark object reflects fewer visible photons than other objects, and therefore appears dim in comparison. For example, matte black paint does not reflect visible light and appears dark, but white paint reflects all visible light and appears bright.

However; light cannot simply be absorbed without limit. Energy, like visible light, cannot be created or destroyed. It can only be converted from one type of energy to another. Most objects that absorb visible light reemit it as infrared light. So, although an object may appear dark, it is likely bright at a frequency that a human being cannot see.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkness