... philosophy and modern psychology, the concept of the ego has played an important role in defining the boundaries of the "self." Although the two fields may seem to take very different views of what the ego is, this is only because they attempt to describe the concept in different terms. In this ... big ego," "egomaniac") is a concept of excessive self-love. This is not what the original concept of ego meant, either in philosophy or psychology, but the whole modern emphasis on "self-esteem" and self-love (as opposed to love from other people or from God) has changed the way ... ego is th...

• Word Count: 3556
• Approx Pages: 14
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... an action to be called free will also be necessary for someone to be held morally responsible. Ayer has defined freedom in negative terms, and is in such a definition contrasted with constraint, internal or external. An action which comes from an agent who may be said to be free must then ... . What seems to me the defining feature or the necessary ingredient of all of these notions of the free will is rationality, in the negative definition because it requires it, and in the latter two because they seem to assume it. We must assume, in order for the theory to make ... accountable for t...

• Word Count: 4380
• Approx Pages: 18
• Grade Level: Undergraduate