what is the purpose of ego?

**nonsqtr** · 8th September 2009 03:58 AM

Question: what is the purpose of ego?

**The_Bear** · 8th September 2009 07:04 AM

To know that it is the center of the universe.

**nonsqtr** · 8th September 2009 07:07 AM

Is that all? Knowledge and geography?

**nonsqtr** · 8th September 2009 10:15 PM

Want to talk about malkhut (sp?) for a minute?

**kynaston** · 10th September 2009 11:49 AM

[quote name='nonsqtr' date='08 September 2009 - 09:58 AM' timestamp='1252403891' post='18388']

Question: what is the purpose of ego?

[/quote]

Same as the purpose of cancer. What IS the purpose of cancer? Why are things supposed to have purposes?

**nonsqtr** · 10th September 2009 06:44 PM

[quote name='kynaston' date='10 September 2009 - 01:49 PM' timestamp='1252604951' post='19645']

Same as the purpose of cancer. What IS the purpose of cancer? Why are things supposed to have purposes?

[/quote]

Okay, let's frame the question a little differently.

Consider it from an evolutionary stanpoint, first.

So, "biologically speaking", and in the context of biological evolution, what is the purpose of ego?

**johnflesh** · 10th September 2009 06:55 PM

[quote name='kynaston' date='10 September 2009 - 12:49 PM' timestamp='1252604951' post='19645']

Same as the purpose of cancer. What IS the purpose of cancer? Why are things supposed to have purposes?

[/quote]

Because every single thing all the way down to the atom, down to the experience, down to the emotion allows itself to be analyzed.

The purpose of the ego is to sustain what is unsustainable within our self esteem. I see it evolving depending on the environment. Its validation, even if fake or a lie.

To become universally harmonized (hippie spake) you must abandon your ego.

**kynaston** · 12th September 2009 06:13 AM

[quote name='johnflesh' date='11 September 2009 - 12:55 AM' timestamp='1252630536' post='19828']

Because every single thing all the way down to the atom, down to the experience, down to the emotion allows itself to be analyzed.

The purpose of the ego is to sustain what is unsustainable within our self esteem. I see it evolving depending on the environment. Its validation, even if fake or a lie.

To become universally harmonized (hippie spake) you must abandon your ego.

[/quote]

Yup. As to the evolutionary purpose, self-consciousness, by allowing a weak person to analyse his/her own feelings, helped that person to understand why more powerful members of your species got angry, so that you could avoid annoying them and being killed, so that his/her genes survived. As to why that should be important, ask the genes, not me - they are alleged to care. It is like a cancer in that a useful device grew into something that destroys the organism it feeds off.

**Zarathustra** · 12th September 2009 08:07 PM

Ego is the force behind all great men in history. They all had ego's that created within them the need to leave their mark on history. And it is only through these great men (of course not without the backing of a following) that great change (both good and bad) has occurred.

**kynaston** · 13th September 2009 10:11 AM

[quote name='Zarathustra' date='13 September 2009 - 02:07 AM' timestamp='1252807660' post='20686']

Ego is the force behind all great men in history. They all had ego's that created within them the need to leave their mark on history. And it is only through these great men (of course not without the backing of a following) that great change (both good and bad) has occurred.

[/quote]

Okay if you want 'great men', doubtless. What do we want them for though? It seems to me there are enough marks on history as it is!