The Ego's Journey: From Ancient Wisdom to Your Modern Self

Who Are You, Really?

We all wear many faces. Online, at work, with family—we shift and shape ourselves to fit in. But behind it all, who is the real you?

This is where the ego steps in. It’s the part of us that says, “This is who I am." It tries to protect us, impress others, and make sense of our place in the world. Sometimes it helps. Sometimes it gets in the way.

For thousands of years, people have asked deep questions about the self. Greek thinkers, Indian sages, Western psychologists—they all tried to understand this strange thing we call the ego. Some said it’s our mind keeping us safe. Others said it’s just a trick, an illusion we believe in too much.

Today, we’re still asking the same questions—but in a new world full of pressure, comparison, and constant noise. This journey is about tracing how the ego has changed over time—and how it shapes your life right now.

It’s not about fixing yourself. It’s about seeing clearly, growing gently, and maybe, letting go of parts that no longer serve you. Let’s walk through this story—of self, soul, and the quiet power that lives behind the ego.

The Story of Self-Knowledge: From Socrates to Aristotle

In ancient Greece, Socrates roamed the streets of Athens, challenging people to question their own beliefs. He often reminded them of the Delphic maxim: Know thyself. To him, a life without self-examination was meaningless. He urged individuals to reflect on their thoughts, actions, and desires, laying the groundwork for what psychology would later call the ego—the part of the mind responsible for self-awareness.

Plato, his devoted student, expanded on this idea. He imagined the soul as a charioteer trying to control two wild horses—one driven by emotions, the other by physical desires. The charioteer, representing reason, had to keep them in balance. This struggle within the self mirrored what Freud would later describe as the ego mediating between primal urges and societal expectations.

Then came Aristotle, a student of Plato, who took a different approach. He saw humans as “rational animals,” deeply connected to their bodies. Unlike Plato, he believed the soul and body were inseparable, with reason being the key to human nature. His focus on logic and adaptation would later resonate with psychological theories on how the ego helps individuals navigate the real world.

Together, these three philosophers laid the foundation for the evolving concept of the self, shaping the way western psychology would later understand the ego.

The Story of the Thinking Self: From Descartes to Kant

Around Nov 1619, one cold morning, René Descartes sat by the fire, questioning everything he knew.

Could he trust his senses?
Could the world around him be an illusion?

In his deep reflection, one truth emerged — I think, therefore I am. No matter what, his ability to think proved his existence. This idea placed the thinking self at the center of knowledge, a concept that later influenced psychology’s view of the ego as the conscious core of self-awareness.

Centuries later, David Hume took a different path. He searched for a stable self within his thoughts but found only fleeting impressions and sensations. To him, the self was not a fixed entity but a flowing stream, always changing. He compared it to a government, where identity comes from the connections between its parts rather than a single, unchanging ruler. His ideas challenged the structured ego of Freud and echoed modern views of the self as fluid and ever-evolving.

Immanuel Kant, in turn, sought to unite these perspectives. He believed that for our thoughts and experiences to make sense, there must be an invisible force tying them together—a Transcendental Ego. This unseen “I” organizes sensations and memories into a meaningful whole, shaping our reality. Though different from Freud’s ego, Kant’s ideas influenced cognitive psychology, which sees the self as an organizer of information.

Through these thinkers, the understanding of the self evolved—from Descartes’ certainty of thought, to Hume’s ever-changing perceptions, to Kant’s structured consciousness. Their ideas laid the foundation for psychology’s exploration of the ego, shaping how we view identity, awareness, and the nature of being.

In the late 19th century, a new science was emerging—one that sought to move beyond philosophy and study the mind with empirical methods. Psychology was born, and with it, the quest to understand the self in a systematic way.

Among the pioneers of this new field was William James, a brilliant thinker who proposed that the self was not a single entity but had two parts: the “I”, the active thinker and experiencer, and the “Me”, the self as an object, shaped by one’s possessions, relationships, and beliefs. His groundbreaking book, The Principles of Psychology (1890), introduced these ideas, foreshadowing later theories of the ego in psychoanalysis and personality psychology.

Meanwhile, other early psychologists were also exploring consciousness. Studies on attention, memory, and perception revealed insights into how individuals experience reality and maintain a sense of self. These discoveries laid the groundwork for the 20th-century theories of the ego, particularly in Freud’s psychoanalysis, where the ego became central in mediating between instincts and the external world.

Though the term “ego” was yet to be fully developed, the seeds of its understanding had already been planted. The transition from philosophy to scientific psychology marked a turning point, shaping the way modern psychology would study identity, self-awareness, and personal development.

One evening, Alex sat alone, debating whether to indulge in a second slice of cake.

A part of him—the wild, impulsive voice—urged him to go for it. “You deserve it! Who cares about the consequences?”

This was his id, the primal force that sought pleasure without restraint.

Then, another voice spoke, stern and judgmental. “You promised to eat healthy. Giving in would be weak and undisciplined.”

This was his superego, shaped by years of societal expectations and personal values.

Caught between the two, Alex’s ego stepped in, reasoning with both sides. “One extra slice won’t ruin my health, but maybe I should balance it with exercise tomorrow.”

His ego, governed by the reality principle, found a middle ground—satisfying his craving without compromising his long-term goals.

Every day, this internal struggle played out in different forms—choosing between work and leisure, honesty and tact, impulse and restraint. To maintain balance, his ego uses defense mechanisms.

When he felt guilty about skipping the gym, he rationalized it by saying, “I had a long day; I needed the rest.” When nervous before a big presentation, he repressed his anxiety, pushing it to the back of his mind.

Freud likened the mind to a horse and rider—the id was the powerful, instinct-driven horse, while the ego was the rider, trying to guide it with reason while keeping an eye on the superego’s moral compass. But the ego’s job was never easy. It was constantly negotiating, making choices, and keeping Alex’s world in order.

Despite its complexity, Freud’s model shaped modern psychology, showing how our mind juggles desires, morals, and reality. Though debated, his ideas remain a cornerstone in understanding human behavior.

A New Era: Ego Psychology

Freud’s own daughter, Anna Freud, was among the first to expand on his ideas. She delved deeper into defense mechanisms—the ways our minds protect us from anxiety. Alongside her, Heinz Hartmann introduced the idea that the ego wasn’t just a referee between instincts and morality but had its own independent functions, like problem-solving, learning, and adapting to life’s challenges. This perspective made the ego seem more powerful and capable, a tool for mastering the world rather than merely containing chaos.

The Power of Relationships: Object Relations Theory

Meanwhile, other scholars began to question: What if the ego isn’t just shaped by inner conflicts but by relationships with others?

Melanie Klein, Donald Winnicott, and Otto Kernberg turned their attention to the bonds we form as children—especially with our parents. They argued that these early attachments shape our internal world, influencing how we see ourselves and interact with others throughout life. The ego, in their view, was not just an internal force but something sculpted by love, care, and, sometimes, loss.

Jung’s Vision: The Ego and the Self

Carl Jung, once Freud’s ally, took a different path. To him, the ego was just the tip of the iceberg. Beneath it lay the vast, mysterious unconscious, filled with symbols and archetypes. He saw the ego as the conscious self, but true psychological growth required a journey toward the Self—an all-encompassing wholeness that connected both the known and the unknown parts of our minds. Through individuation, people could integrate their hidden selves, moving beyond mere ego-driven concerns toward deeper fulfillment.

The Search for Identity: Erik Erikson

While many theorists focused on childhood, Erik Erikson took a broader view. He believed the ego evolves throughout life, shaped by social interactions and personal challenges. From infancy to old age, people navigate crises—learning trust, forming identities, and eventually seeking meaning. The ego, in Erikson’s world, was not just about controlling desires but about building a coherent sense of self over time.

The Humanistic Perspective: The Self in Full Bloom

Then came Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, who saw psychology through a different lens. They believed in human potential and the pursuit of self-actualization. Rogers described the self as a growing, evolving force that thrived in an environment of acceptance. Maslow, in turn, spoke of a hierarchy of needs—where esteem and self-respect paved the way for true fulfillment. Here, the ego wasn’t a battleground for inner conflict but a vehicle for growth, helping people reach their highest potential.

The Age of Thought: The Cognitive Revolution

As psychology moved into the modern era, a new perspective took hold: the mind as an information processor. Instead of unconscious drives or hidden emotions, researchers examined how people think about themselves. Self-concepts, schemas, and memories formed a structured, cognitive version of the ego—one that helps us interpret the world and shape our actions. This approach viewed the self as an active thinker, constantly constructing and updating its identity based on experience.

Eastern Philosophy on Ego

While the West focused on defining the ego, the East took a different path. It often saw the idea of a fixed self as an illusion or a barrier to real peace.

They explored consciousness and often reached conclusions very different from Western ideas. In Asia, the “ego” wasn’t something to strengthen, but to understand and move beyond.

Buddhism

In Buddhism, the idea of a permanent “self” or “ego” was called Anattā (meaning “non-self”). Imagine trying to find a solid “you” in your ever-changing thoughts and feelings. Buddhism taught that what we think of as our ego is just a collection of these fleeting things, like a river that looks constant but is always new water. This attachment to a solid “I” was seen as the cause of suffering. The way to freedom was to see this illusion through mindfulness and meditation, letting it fade to reveal a deeper reality.

Hinduism

In Hinduism, a similar idea was Ahamkara, meaning “I-making.” This wasn’t the true self, but the tendency to mistakenly see our real, eternal Self (Atman) as our body, mind, or possessions. Ahamkara was the voice that said, “I am this body,” tying people to the cycle of karma. The goal for Hindus was to go beyond this ego-identification, to see through the illusion and realize the individual Atman was one with the universal consciousness (Brahman), leading to spiritual freedom (Moksha).

Taoism

Taoism, from ancient China, focused on being in harmony with nature and the Dao (the universe’s natural flow). The ego, shaped by what society expects and by personal wants, was seen as a problem, causing inner conflict and separating people from this natural harmony. The real self, in Taoist thought, was like an “uncarved block”—pure and simple. The path to wisdom was to let go of the ego’s control, practicing “wu wei” (effortless alignment with the Dao), dissolving the ego’s need to control and strive.

Confucianism

Even Confucianism, while not about getting rid of the ego, had a unique view. It emphasized building a moral and ethical self, the “junzi” or “superior man,” through discipline. This was about making one’s character better for social harmony. You could see this as shaping a “polished ego”—a self that is polite and good, but still strongly tied to social roles and self-improvement.

The Shifting Sands of Self

These ancient insights are still important today. While the West tried to understand and manage the ego, Eastern traditions offered a different idea: what if the very thought of a fixed “I” is the source of our deepest problems?

Today, in meditation centers and yoga studios, people still use these old practices to quiet the ego’s constant chatter. They learn to watch thoughts and feelings without getting caught up in them, slowly loosening the grip of “I” and “mine.” Interestingly, modern cognitive science sometimes mirrors these old ideas, suggesting that our sense of self might indeed be more of a useful mental idea than a real, unchanging thing.

So, from Buddhism’s “non-self” to Hinduism’s transcendence of “I-making” and Taoism’s embrace of natural flow, Eastern philosophies offer a powerful and timeless story about the ego—not as something to build up, but as an understanding to be freed from, leading to deep and lasting peace.

Beyond the Ego: The Psychic Being

In understanding the self, beyond Western ideas, lies a deep Eastern view, especially from thinkers like Sri Aurobindo. This view sees the ego not as the true self, but as a temporary, even necessary, step in our growth.

The Ego’s Role

Consciousness-Based Psychology (CBP)[1] accepts what Western psychology has learned about the ego, from Freud’s work to modern therapy. It knows the ego is important for things like checking reality, memory, controlling urges, making choices, and using defense mechanisms. These are the tools that help us live in the world and handle our inner struggles. Much of therapy today aims to make these ego functions stronger.

However, CBP places this understanding in a much bigger picture: the evolution of consciousness itself. It sees the ego as key to our physical, mental, and social makeup, but not the final goal. Instead, it suggests the ego will eventually be replaced by a higher, more complete idea: the psychic being.

Three Ways to Look at the Ego

To truly grasp this idea, the ego is seen from three different angles.

The Metaphysical View

From a deeper, metaphysical point of view, the ego is seen as an illusion. Behind our individual experiences, there’s a basic, formless, endless, single Reality. Our individual “ego” comes from our physical awareness and our senses, which make us feel separate from this oneness. It’s like seeing ocean waves and thinking each one is separate, when they’re all part of the same ocean.

Sri Aurobindo explains this by separating the temporary ego from the Jiva, the Individual Self, which he sees as eternal. He says reality has three levels: the Individual Self (Jiva), the Cosmic Self, and the Transcendent Self—all parts of the same ultimate Reality. While some Eastern thought talks about the ego disappearing, Sri Aurobindo says that while the ego fades, the eternal Jiva keeps growing. This growth, he suggests, eventually leads to the Supermind, with the psychic being as the new center of who we are.

The Evolutionary View

From an evolutionary perspective, the ego is a temporary but needed stage in the big story of consciousness unfolding. It appears as consciousness itself develops from matter and unconsciousness. Think of simpler animals without true self-awareness, then higher animals and humans, where a clear individual identity (ego) starts to form.

Early on, the ego is vital. It helps us form a unique identity, asserting ourselves mentally, emotionally, and physically. It lets us define ourselves by interacting with—and sometimes clashing with—other egos. But eventually, this very ego, made for separation and self-focus, limits further growth. It can’t include all parts of being human anymore. At this point, a higher center of identity is needed—one that can live in unity with all beings. This is where the psychic being (soul) must emerge to replace the ego as the true center of individuality, as the ego has done its job and must be outgrown for higher consciousness.

The Psychological View

Psychologically, the ego, despite its strengths, is too limited for the full range of human experience. Sri Aurobindo looked deeply into its makeup, finding five distinct parts:

Mental Ego: This is about our thoughts, beliefs, and intellectual identity. It drives our goals, judgments, and even our biases.
Vital Ego: This is about our emotions, desires, passions, and willpower. It drives aggression, romance, and creativity, but also pride, jealousy, and harmful urges, often being harder to control than the mental ego.
Physical Ego: This is rooted in our body identity. It shapes our physical habits, body image, and how we react to the world. It can’t be overcome by simply denying it; it needs a deep change in our very cells.
Collective Ego: This is our group identity—family, race, nation, religion. While it gives a sense of belonging, it can also limit personal growth by forcing us to fit in, acting as a bigger, but still limited, version of the individual ego.
Substratum Ego: This is the deepest layer of the ego, providing the very sense of individual existence. It’s often mistaken for the true soul, but even this basic sense of self limits deep spiritual understanding.

Sri Aurobindo stressed that no part of the ego, in any form, can truly reach higher consciousness. The ego, by its nature, creates a feeling of being separate, limiting our ability for knowledge, power, and love. True fulfillment, then, comes from moving beyond the ego and allowing a wider consciousness to appear, leading to deeper peace, joy, and wisdom.

The Path Forward: Seeking, Letting Go, Refusing

Ultimately, the ego is seen as a false but temporarily useful thing, belonging to the world of Nature, while the psychic being is linked to the true soul. Replacing the ego with the psychic being is a deep, long-term commitment. Sri Aurobindo described three main practices for this change:

Aspiration — a sincere search for higher consciousness;

Surrender — letting go of the ego’s control; and

Rejection — actively removing negative, ego-driven habits.

This needs deep self-reflection and creating an inner space where the soul can truly take charge. Through focus, contemplation, and witnessing—observing the ego from a higher state—we can gradually allow the psychic being to become the new center of our being.

This journey from ego to a higher unity with consciousness promises not just freedom, but a deeper experience of happiness and spiritual fulfillment, as we break free from ego limits and embrace a wider, more harmonious existence.

With the stage set for exploration of ego and its background. Let us delve into a conversation on Ego, with Aditi from Uditam.

What sparked your journey into integral pursuit of philosophy and psychology?

“My journey started as a psychology student. I earned my master’s and PhD, but soon realized Western theories often simplified human experience. They focused on data, missing the deeper philosophical questions about who we truly are. I craved a fuller understanding, one that wove philosophy into psychology.

In 2015, I found a course at the Indian Psychology Institute that did just that, blending Indian philosophy with psychology. This experience changed my academic path completely! It led me to teach integral yoga psychology and conduct workshops on the topic. It’s been a natural progression, driven by an inner need to connect the head and the heart.”

What role does self-image play in our everyday lives, and how does it shape our identity?

“Self-image is essentially the story we tell ourselves, built from early life experiences and what society tells us. As kids, we pick up roles based on how we look, our family, and cultural expectations. Over time, these roles fuse into a constructed self-image that often reflects outer reality more than our true inner self. This ‘made-up’ identity can limit our ability to see and express who we really are, mainly because it’s so influenced by external approval and inherited expectations.”

How can we differentiate genuine self-confidence from an inflated ego that covers insecurities?

“Think of genuine self-confidence as nourishing fuel for your inner self, while an inflated ego is like overeating—it’s trying too hard to hide insecurities. True confidence is balanced; it grows from self-awareness and doesn’t need outside approval.

An inflated ego, however, often shows up as defensive behaviors, like excessive name-dropping or constantly stressing credentials. These are signs of a need to mask inner vulnerabilities, not a display of real strength.”

What practical steps can help shift from seeking external validation to cultivating inner confidence?

“Start by understanding that while needing external approval is natural, it shouldn’t rule your actions. Work on self-acceptance and pinpoint your true strengths.

A helpful technique is to create a deliberate ‘gap’—a pause before reacting. This pause lets you observe your own behaviors and understand why you do them, eventually building a more authentic, internally-driven confidence.”

How do we navigate the evolving self throughout different life stages while staying true to our core identity?

“As we move through different roles—student, employee, partner—our outer identities naturally change. But beneath these temporary roles lies an eternal inner self, a ‘divine spark’ that stays the same.

I often compare this to living in a rented apartment while slowly building your own home. The key is to balance the changing parts of your life with a constant return to your unchanging inner essence.”

In what ways does the ego shape our experiences and create biases in our interpretation of life?

“The ego acts as both a protector and a storyteller. From early in life, it gathers experiences—both conscious and unconscious—forming a ‘bag of stories,’ some clear and some hidden. These stories shape who we think we are and can lead to biases in how we see and interact with the world.

The ego might even create an illusion of being special or superior, which can limit our ability to genuinely connect with others and the divine.”

Is personal change driven by external expectations, or does it stem from within?

“True transformation always starts from within. Instead of rejecting who you are now, recognize the gap between your current state and your potential. Change is like emptying a bottle before refilling it—only when you clear out old patterns can you make space for new growth.

Genuine change is fueled by an internal drive to match your actions with your inner truth, not by outside pressure or what society expects.”

Parting Thoughts

The ego is part of being human. It helps us get through daily life—making choices, setting goals, keeping things in order. But it also tells stories that aren’t always true. It wants to protect us, but sometimes it keeps us stuck.

Across time, people have tried to understand this part of us. Some said we should manage it. Others said we should go beyond it. What they all agreed on: the ego isn’t the whole story.

Once we see the ego clearly—just as one part of us, not the boss of us—we get more space inside. Space to respond instead of react. To grow without pretending. To be more real, less controlled by old habits.

That’s not about fixing who you are. It’s about making room to meet who you are—beneath the noise, beyond the roles. And that can be surprisingly simple, even joyful.

[1] - Chapter 4, Consciousness Based Psychology