Sigmund Freud proposed the human psyche could be divided into three parts, the Id, ego and super-ego. He believed the Id to be the completely unconscious, impulsive, almost childlike portion of the psyche that operates on what Freud called 'the pleasure principle', meaning that it is the source of basic impulses. The id leads us to seek for immediate pleasure and gratification. The super-ego is the moral component of the psyche, but it doesn't take into account that the morally right thing to do may not always be right in a given situation. However, both the hedonistic id and overly moralistic super-ego are impractical, so an ego is needed to balance the two. It is usually the ego that is seen in a person's actions. Freud compared the relationship between the ego and the id to that of a charioteer and his horses, whilst the horses provide the energy and drive, the charioteer provides the direction.
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