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At first glance it would seem that division of the psyche into sharp, inflexible parts would reveal a disregard for the fact that personality constitutes a continuum, and that schisms in endopsychic processes are no more feasible than in, for instance, neurophysiological mechanisms. However, the demands of heuristic methods of research require a simplification whereby such division may be utilized as stepping stones towards a more comprehensive view of processes which would show the intricate over-all pattern characteristic of personality structure. Freud (2) demonstrated some of the relations between the ego and the id, and at the same time showed how the conception of personality continuum could be preserved and obscure relationships made clear.
While there has been much thought given to topographical relations, these are far from being clearly delineated. About 25 years ago Freud (3) stated that there was nothing new about the id except its name. The id generally continues to be regarded as a disorganized instinct-riddled psychic entity which is subject to the primary process.
Freud seems somewhat inconsistent insofar as attributing organizational qualities to the id was concerned. This is exemplified when, on the one hand, he asserted: (italics are mine) “Physical