the domain of economic and political life he is living in open conflict
with others. He finds himself unable to control his ruthless egoism
and his infinite gold hunger which is gradually killing all higher
strivings in him and bringing him but life weariness. Absorbed in the
fact, that is to say, the optically present source of sensation, he is
entirely cut off from the unplumbed depths of his own being.(6)
Modern man is certainly a prey to the two types of conflict which
Iqbal has mentioned. For that matter, man may always have suffered
from such a conflict. Modern civilisation, however, seems to have
accentuated it. Nobody can deny that conflict is an active source of
misery and unhappiness. Is mental conflict due to extraneous
factors or to those which are inherent in the mind? Iqbal, through
long meditation on the problems of life, was admirably fitted to
pronounce a balanced judgment on this issue. The passage quoted
above makes it clear that he blames conflict on modern civilisation
which puts a premium on the selfish side of man and provides
satisfaction for only a segment of the self instead of for the whole
of it. This view deserves serious consideration. To judge the
question in all its aspects, however, we cannot disregard the views of
two psychologists who have made a solid contribution in this field.
The first psychologist who explored the depths of the human
mind was Freud. On the basis of extensive clinical work, he
advanced a theory which illumined many points which hitherto had
remained obscure. He preferred the term Psyche, as it had no
metaphysical implications. The Psyche, he believed, is the seat of a
number of instinctive drives, each of which blindly strives to
abolish or reduce the tension which accompanies it. Each of these
drives is invested with a fund of psychical energy. This psychical
energy, as it is expended in activities directed to the attainment of
relief or pleasure, is termed the libido. Consciousness originates on
the surface of the Psyche, which is also the surface of the organism,
as it receives the impact of the environmental forces. As
consciousness is in direct contact with the environment, it assumes
the role of mediator between the interior of the Psyche and the
environment. The conscious personality puts a curb on the
instinctive drives and compels them to defer satisfaction to a
suitable time. The formation of the Oedipus complex gives rise to
the super-ego, which is the third sub-system of the Psyche. The
super-ego, as it embodies the group code and group ideals, pursues
The Function of Deen 57