Reality principle

In Freudian psychology and psychoanalysis, the reality principle (German: Realitätsprinzip) is the ability of the mind to assess the reality of the external world, and to act upon it accordingly, as opposed to acting on the pleasure principle.

Allowing the individual to defer (put off) instant gratification, the reality principle is the governing principle of the actions taken by the ego, after its slow development from a "pleasure-ego" into a "reality-ego": it may be compared to the triumph of reason over passion, head over heart, rational over emotional mind.

Freud argued that “an ego thus educated has become ‘reasonable’; it no longer lets itself be governed by the pleasure principle, but obeys the reality principle, which also, at bottom, seeks to obtain pleasure, but pleasure which is assured through taking account of reality, even though it is pleasure postponed and diminished”.

In his introductory lectures of 1915, at the University of Vienna, Freud popularized the concept of the unconscious as the largest and most influential part of the mind, including those drives, instincts and motives humans are often forced to deny except in disguised form. In the 23rd lecture, Freud discussed the conflict between the realm of "Phantasy" and the reality principle, comparing the former to a nature reserve. He argued however that “there is a path that leads back from phantasy to reality - the path, that is, of art”.

Jonathan Lear has argued that there was in fact an ethical dimension to Freud's concept of the reality principle, in that it was opposed to a neurotically distorted world-view.

In infancy and early childhood, the Id governs behavior predominantly by obeying the pleasure principle. Maturity is the slow process of learning to endure the pain of deferred gratification as and when reality requires it – a process Freud saw as fostered by education and educators. The result is the mature mind's ability to avoid instant gratification in favor of long-term satisfaction.

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