y competitive and selfish creature especially when his reputation is at stake. According to Hobbes, “man is not a social animal”Like Darwin, Sigmund Freud’s theory of human nature was also based on biological factors rather than reasoning. Freud was the originator of psychodynamic personality theories. These theories were based on the assumption that “powerful inner forces shape personality and motivate behavior” (Psychology and Life p.555). Sigmund Freud introduced us to the three components of human personality: id, ego and superego. The id is present at birth at contains everything that is inherited. The id is our social and biological instincts such as hunger, and thirst and our awareness of the outside world, our memory, perception and learning. The ego is developed to keep a balance between the id and the demands of reality. The ego “pursues pleasure and seeks to avoid un-pleasure” (Freud 231). The superego develops later on and in varying degrees. It is like a conscience and brings in values and morals that are learned from parents and society. Freud had two methodological theories: the relationship between mind and matter and mind is a part of nature. The relationship between mind and matter basically states that without a brain there is no mind. According to Freud, the one thing we truly know is our own mental process or thoughts. Mind is a part of nature for Freud, means that the mind is natural, just like the body. Freud believed that every thought or idea was a random act and held some clues to a persons underlying mental health. “Nothing is irrelevant” (Freud notes). While formulating these theories Freud was strongly influenced by Darwin’s theory of Evolution by Natural Selection.Karl Marx, like Locke, basically has a positive view of human nature. Marx has three states of man. The first one is the natural man in a state of natural society. The second is the mode...
