Theory of Psychology: The Laws of Psyche (complete text)

The aspirations of premeditation are constantly guided to two general types of goals: 1- concrete facts 2– virtual conditions. The basic difference between both lies in what is defined or indefinite concerning the duration of something, in what is stable or unstable in the phenomenon. A skillful act for example, is a concrete fact because this one is subject to be defined in time and space, it is something that “appears and disappears” from reality, it is an event that does not exist anymore immediately after taking place; after showing up, but only as a fact of the past. Instead, virtual conditions have a relatively constant existence. Possessing, having or being something are continuously present in the time, the same as not possessing, not having or not being that something. Although virtual conditions also fluctuate between being and not being, whereas a current quality sooner or later stops being such and that not being starts being, they have a relative stability; they are present or not in a certain period of time.

2. Impulses and bipulsions that form the structure of the apparatuses

When we discussed about impulses and bipulsions, we only focused our attention on the concrete acts or facts, as absolute goals or values of those trends. This was to practice purposes and as a way to put the task in order. But there are some impulses and bipulsions that, besides being interested in concrete facts, act in relation to the virtual conditions. The part of those impulses and bipulsions dealing with virtual conditions starts shaping the motivational structure of the apparatuses.

As we have already said, the apparatuses arise out from the organization of the impulses and bipulsions. The absolute virtual values of the apparatuses keep on being goals and absolute values of the impulses and bipulsions. This way for example, the spiritual bipulsion whose absolute values are: what is positive and negative for the O.F.M.I., does not only deal with the favorable or unfavorable concrete facts for the O.F.M.I., but the virtual conditions of the stable welfare or uneasiness of the group also mean what is positive or negative for the O.F.M.I. Such virtual conditions cause the spiritual pleasure or displeasure respectively. For that reason, in the case of the apparatus of the group welfare we can clearly see the structural presence of the spiritual bip. Another example is the case of the global moral bip. One part of this is guided towards concrete facts or good and bad acts in general and the other one deals with virtues and faults as virtual conditions. That is to say, that first part gives rise to the rest of bipulsions dealing with concrete acts or attitudes; while the other part of the global moral bip is overturned to what is virtual (virtues and faults). The general absolute values of the global moral bip. are always what is good or approvable and what is bad or non-approvable. Then, as virtues and faults are respectively good and bad qualities of the subject, those virtues and faults are also specific forms of what is good and bad in general. Thus, that derivation of the global moral bip. dealing with virtual qualities forms the structure of the apparatus of the personal moral. It is the part that is “above” bipulsions and their concrete acts, being in charge of the virtues and faults arisen out from their activity.

In order to analyze the composition of the apparatuses, firstly we have to distinguish two general aspects of such composition. One refers to the concrete structure of the absolute virtual values, that is to say, to the impulses and bipulsions that are directly present in those values and in the interest regarding them (the examples discussed correspond to this). The other aspect refers to the organization and coordination of the performance of other motivational tendencies that, although they are not part of the direct interest in relation to the virtual values of the apparatuses, they have a subordinate activity to the purposes of these ones. For instance, the social responsibility bip. has a great part of its activity, naturally subordinated to the purposes of the social apparatuses. In many cases, the duty consists on the fulfillment of what implies a mean for the achievement of social ideals. The social responsibility bip. starts taking charge of concrete facts that are partial steps in relation to the ideals of social welfare ideals of tribal honor and dignity. In this example we can see that although fulfillment of duty as a concrete act, is not part of the direct structure of the virtual values of the social apparatuses, it is subordinated to the purposes of them. Its activity is largely placed on what should be made in each case to favor the achievement of those ideals. Another example is the case of the ethics-seriousness and ethics-graveness bipulsions. Although these ones do not participate directly in the structure of the virtual values of the apparatuses, they are mobilized preserving the interests of the latter one. They are the ones that respond condemning those who attempt against the positive virtual values that one possesses and the ones that gratify those ones contributing to reaffirm them. This way for example, when somebody offends the tribe’s honor or attempts against the conditions of the subject’s welfare, the ethics-seriousness bip. or graveness will be mobilized., responding aggressively to that attack towards the positive values of the apparatuses. On the contrary, if the tribe receives tributes to its honor or a contribution to the welfare conditions, those bipulsions will respond gratifying or rewarding the honors towards the one who contributed to reassert the positive values of the apparatuses.

Then, on one hand we find the impulses and bipulsions that have a part of their activity overturned to the field of virtual conditions and which are the ones giving rise to the direct structure of the virtual values of the apparatuses. And on the other hand, we find many motivational components that, although they are not direct part of the essential interest regarding the virtual values of the apparatuses, they are functionally subordinated and organized under the scope of their movement.

Based on such distinction, firstly we will analyze the impulses and bipulsions that have a part of their activity referred to the virtual conditions and that are those that shape the direct motivational structure in relation to the virtual values of each apparatus. We will see then, the rest of the tendencies whose activity, overturned to the concrete facts, is naturally subordinated to the purposes of the apparatuses, being part of its integral performance.

[Entering here you can see the structure of the apparatuses that summarizes what we will analyze next. It is recommended to print the graph (in horizontal)]

Among the impulses and bipulsions giving rise to the direct structure of the absolute virtual values and to the essential interest in relation to them, some of them are present in the same way in all the apparatuses; they are the conservation, relief, joy, continuation, recovery impulses and the anticipatory and aesthetics bipulsions.

The conservation, relief, joy and continuation impulses that are the most direct representatives in the general law fulfill, in the apparatuses, the four central functions of intention in their fight against the opponent forces. The conservation one is in charge of avoiding the negative virtual values whose possession is always a displeasure source. The relief one tries to leave the unpleasant state that means the presence of the negative values. The joy one intends to achieve the positive desired virtual values as they imply the security of the corresponding pleasure. And the continuation one tries to keep the positive virtual values, fostering their continuity as they are sources of pleasure.

The recovery imp. is prompted when the loss or deterioration of the level of habitual virtual values take place. For example, when the subject notices that his virtues are not as they used to be, the typical nec. of the impulse will appear, encouraging him towards the recovery of that habitual level. Also, if the material life conditions that had become habitual, start being harassed, the nec. of the impulse will appear, reason why it will try to recover them. This way, when being able to be back to “normal”, the recovery imp. is satisfied, disappearing its nec. (feeling of lack of what is habitual).*

* The eventual interest of the apparatuses for freedom, social justice and other natural conditions of life that show up as values only when they are absent for certain circumstances, would also correspond to the recovery impulse. Freedom, for example considered as absence of oppression on the part of other men, is a natural condition of human life, which becomes into a goal to achieve only when it is absent.

The anticipatory bip., as we remember, is responsible for all the pleasant or unpleasant psychic reactions that are early to other concrete facts producing pleasure or displeasure. Among those reactions, the feelings of success and failure or happiness for the achievement and frustration, would be the most important ones. All the reactions of pleasure or happiness, conformity, etc. advancing other pleasant facts and all bitterness, displeasure, unconformity, anticipating what is bad or unpleasant in general, are also included in the bipulsion. The virtual values of the apparatuses always enclose a great deal of future concrete facts implied under those stable conditions. For that reason, the feelings of happiness and conformity for the positive values that one has as well as displeasure, bitterness and unconformity for the negative ones, are respectively anticipatory psychic reactions of the whole series of favorable or unfavorable concrete facts that such stable conditions announce.

We have been saying lately that the aesthetics bip. has also a generalized presence in the virtual values of all the apparatuses. This is like that, because the positive and negative virtual values are always associated to pleasure and displeasure respectively. Such association makes the positive values cause for themselves an aesthetic or contemplative pleasure in the subject; while the single presence of the negative ones causes an aesthetic displeasure. In other terms, that association makes the virtual values acquire a relative autonomy in their capacity to produce aesthetic pleasure or displeasure. This way, the positive values acquire certain beauty and the negative ones show up as something ugly or unpleasant to the single view (concrete or through the mental representation).

The five impulses and the two bipulsions we have already discussed, are present in the movement of the absolute virtual values of all the apparatuses. We will see now the rest of the direct components of each one, which are obviously added to those ones.

Ethical apparatus: other people's faults-virtues

An essential component of this apparatus is the global ethics bip. This is the responsible one for the reactions of pleasure for what is good and displeasure for what is bad in others, approving what is good and disapproving what is bad. This bipulsion, as previously discussed, gives rise to three specific bipulsions in charge of responding before other people's behaviors regarding good or bad concrete facts. But there is another part of the global ethics bip. that is overturned towards the virtual or stable conditions, that is to say towards other people's virtues and faults as the good and the bad. This part is the one giving rise to the ethical apparatus. This way, other people's virtues cause stable pleasure or conformity towards the one who possesses them, which is manifested in the concrete signs of esteem, valuation, appreciation, as a second phase of the ethical apparatus. On the other hand, other people's faults cause stable unconformity or dislike that is expressed in the second phase of the apparatus through signs of disrespect or lack of esteem.

We have to bear in mind that the ethical apparatus, as it is a specific form of the global ethics bip. derived towards what is virtual, entails at the same time the different motivational components which form that bipulsion. In that way, the first phase of the apparatus consisting on the pleasure or dislike before other people's virtues and faults, is sustained by: 1- the aesthetics bip. that is present in the reactions of pleasure or displeasure before the virtues or faults, which appear respectively as beautiful-ugly. 2- pleasure or displeasure (in general anticipatory) arising out from the benefit or damage that for the observer means other people's certain qualities or attributes. 3- the spiritual bip. that responds with pleasure or displeasure before other people's qualities that imply what is favorable or unfavorable for observer’s O.F.M.I.. On the other hand, the second phase of the apparatus consisting on the expressions of esteem or disrespect through the concrete signs of those feelings, is made up of the fraternal and aggression impulses which are the executors of such manifestations, as forms of global approval or disapproval respectively. The communication imp. also participates here with its nec. to show conformity or unconformity with certain qualities of other people.

It is necessary to remember that the before mentioned components accumulate, at the same time, the essence of other motivational elements. This way, for example, the aesthetics bip. as one of the components of the global ethics bip. (and therefore of the ethical apparatus), is made up of several impulses, such as joy and continuation that look for experiencing the pleasure produced by beauty (virtues); the conservation and relief ones intend to deny the displeasure for what is ugly (faults); the curiosity one that is present in the astonishment and the aesthetic admiration before certain qualities of other people. Thus, if we start disintegrating the components of the ethical apparatus from the most complex to the most simple one, we will see the diversity of elements that have been organized in the frame of its structure.

On the other hand, the ethical apparatus would also be in charge of the maximum esteem feelings in form of fraternal or passionate love and of maximum disrespect such as hate or aversion. Such feelings would always have the motivational sustenance of some of the mentioned elements as components of the apparatus.

That maximum esteem has two ways of manifesting itself and each of them counts with the respective impulses over which it is supported:

1-Fraternal love : .	. .	fraternal imp. .	(friendships, family, companions, esteemed persons)

2- Passionate love :		joy imp. continuation imp.	(great attraction by something producing joy)

In the state of being in love, the fraternal love connected with the esteem towards the person together with the passionate love arisen out from the great association to the object-subject enjoyment.

On the other hand, there are also two complementary forms of maximum disrespect, sustained by antagonistic impulses in relation to those:

1- Hate:	aggression imp.	(enmity)

2- Aversion:	conservation imp. relief imp.	(rejection towards persons, situations or objects, causing pain or suffering)

It is thought that these feelings or attitudes, affections, like special and superlative forms of esteem or disrespect, could not be considered as “ethical”. However, it has to do basically with affective answers towards other people's virtues or faults to what is good-bad of the attributes perceived in people or things. For that reason, although some forms of esteem-disrespect should not be conceived as ethical answers, they carry out a clear ethical function, since they are good to encourage the other one (or oneself when it has to do with self-esteem or self-disrespect) to develop or to improve virtues and to get the denial of faults. The single situation by means of which the virtuous man is estimated and the man having important faults is disrespected, is the condition that encourages subjects to develop properly their personal or moral qualities in general.

A similar situation appears with the case for example, of skillfulness-clumsiness regarding its label of “moral”. Firstly, the skillful and clumsy acts do not appear as moral elements in the habitual sense of the word. But the respective pleasure-displeasure caused by the approval-disapproval towards those values (or the self-approval –self-disapproval) are essentially moral, as they are the outcome of what is good or bad in the own behavior.

Apparatus of the personal moral: personal faults-virtues

Among the motivational components that make the structure of the apparatus, the global moral bip. stands out firstly. As we have already noticed in the above example, this bipulsion is interested in the possession of virtues and the absence of faults. Such qualities are good and bad attributes of the subject respectively.

The division of the global moral bip., through which one part of its interest is overturned to concrete facts, giving rise to a great part of the bipulsions system and the other one is guided towards the virtues and faults, is based on the two forms that the approval impulse has in order to attain satisfaction. One is the approval or congratulation for a good act and the other one the signs of esteem as a form of global approval towards the person. As we remember, the approval imp. forms one of the headings of the global moral bip. It is the impulse that has the absolute goal leading to its satisfaction, in what is properly good. Therefore, the global moral bip. which entails the approval imp. in its interest in what is good, is divided into those two general forms of what is good: concrete acts (skillful, fair act, etc.) and personal virtues. The first one leads to the pleasure of the spontaneous approval and self-approval towards the concrete behavior and the second one, to social esteem and self-esteem as stable approval and self-approval. On the other hand, the negative side that is the disapproval and self-disapproval for what is bad , is also symmetrically “opened up” to that; that is to say, on one hand, we find the disapproval and self-disapproval towards the concrete bad acts and on the other, disrespect and self-disrespect for the personal faults, as stable forms of what is bad. In that way, the portion of the global moral bip. dealing with the stable personal qualities gives rise to the performance of the apparatus of the personal moral.

Another direct component of the interest in the personal virtues and the denial of the faults is the ethical apparatus. This is in charge of making oneself feel the conformity or unconformity according to the own virtues and faults. The feelings of self-esteem or self-disrespect are a product of an ethical-moral combination. Firstly, the ethical answer of conformity or unconformity before the evaluation about oneself takes place followed by the corresponding spontaneous reaction of moral pleasure or displeasure. The ethical part is the one esteeming or disrespecting and the moral part is the one that receives the esteem or disrespect coming from that automatic ethical mechanism. But both phases are almost simultaneous; they form the only feeling of self-esteem or self-disrespect.

A third direct component of the interest in virtues and denial of the personal faults is the moral fight bip. This bipulsion not only deals with concrete facts (winning-losing, to do it better or worse, etc.), but it fully acts in the field of virtual conditions as well. At this level, its absolute values appear as being better-being worse. The “added engine” that the moral fight bip. means for the movement of all the values with moral motivations, is also present in the apparatus of the personal moral. Here, being better – being worse entail virtues and faults that are subordinated to the dynamic management of the moral fight bip. At this level, virtues and faults are the “materials” at issue. The moral fight bip. contributes to being “better” or “worse” as an empty mechanism, while virtues and faults constitute the “in which” one is better or worse, that is to say, they form the elements on which the mechanism acts.

The fundamental aspect which deals with the moral fight bip. at this stage, is what is quantitative of virtues, what is differential in the level they are possessed. The interest in having virtues and not having faults is already “implied”. Now the central question refers to being most virtuous or less virtuous. This fight can be classified in different ways:

1 - Social or individual. It is social when the layout refers to who is better or worse; and it is individual when one tries to improve and better oneself.

2 - For partial virtues or in relation to the global or synthetic virtue. That is to say, the fight can refer to an isolated virtue, example: who is more skillful for certain task or it may be about being a better or a worse individual in the total of aspects.

3 - Implicit or express. It is implicit when the spontaneous emulation necessarily leads to develop an interest to be among the best or to be the best if it is possible, avoiding being among the worst or being worse than certain subject. And it is expressed when the values that are in a clear challenge or game “to see” who is better are put under test.*

* Being better in terms of the level of virtues, has nothing to do with the cloudy concept of “superiority” (human, etc.). Being better means basically to be source of pleasure for those who qualify this way the subject or group. The things are better or worse as they like or not to who values them. A meal is better than other because it is more flavorful and pleases the person qualifying it that way. For that reason, the wish to be better is the wish to be something good, something pleasant for the others. Just for that reason one is better. The best in virtues is the best in personal “kindness”. On the other hand the “superior” is something feeble, hostile, unpleasant, he is the worst.

The sexual imp. and especially when it has not been satisfied for long, may also be an important motivational component of the apparatus of the personal moral. As personal virtues or faults constitute one decisive factor of major or minor level of sexual acceptance, that impulse frequently encourages the development of virtues and the denial of faults. However, it would not be necessary to mention this impulse among the components of the apparatus, as it has been timely included in the global moral bip., which was already mentioned as an essential component of that. That is to say, we have to take for granted the presence of the elements forming this bipulsion in the apparatus, among which sexual imp. is frequently present, trying to get the sexual acceptance through the “own goodness” in general; in this case in its virtual form: personal virtues.

There are several cases similar to this one, where no motivational component of a complex tendency is mentioned, as its presence there is taken for granted, when another component element was previously mentioned where that one is included.

Apparatus of the group moral: group faults-virtues

The group moral bip. is the one giving rise directly to the structure of the apparatus. As we remember, this bipulsion has as absolute values: the good side or bad side of the own group. Virtues and faults or honorable and disgraceful virtual conditions respectively, are obviously included in those general values as specific forms of the good side and the bad side of the group. Thus, this part of the group moral bip. dealing with what is virtual or stable in values, is the one which gives life and movement to the apparatus of the group moral.

The ethical apparatus is also present in the one of the group moral which makes us feel satisfied or unsatisfied with “our” virtues or faults, as product of the evaluation on what is honorable or reason of pride and what is disgraceful or humiliating of the group itself.

Finally, the moral fight bip. also acts on the group virtues and faults. It is the responsible for emulation and the interest in being the best tribe or group, giving the maximum vitality and dynamism to the apparatus. The bipulsion of the moral fight is as an “accelerator” of moral motivations. Therefore, in the apparatus of the group moral it is the element that multiplies the interest in the improvement of the group virtues.

Apparatus of the personal welfare: personal uneasiness-welfare

In this one, there is not almost any aggregates regarding the components that are common in the direct motivational structure of the interest in relation to the absolute virtual values of all the apparatuses (conservation, relief, joy, continuation, recovery imp. and anticipatory and aesthetics bipulsions). The variation impulse would be the only one added which often responds with boredom or nec. to change before certain stable conditions of personal life that has become monotonous or unimaginative.

As we have already stated, the whole subject's interests excepting the moral and spiritual ones, are included in the apparatus of the personal welfare. The apparatus embraces favorable or unfavorable material conditions for most impulses as well as for what it interests to non-moral or spiritual bipulsions and macropulsion.

The fact that the apparatus is in charge of all virtual values related to those interests, is something that can make us believe that that group of tendencies neither moral nor spiritual, would also form direct part of the personal welfare apparatus. But it is not this way because: firstly, the apparatuses are active mechanisms in motion. The components of their motivational structure are always impulses and bipulsions in motion. For that reason, if a subject moved by his interest in the personal welfare, decides for example, to install a heating system in his house and he makes it in the middle of the summer, being ahead to winter colds, that will not imply that the heating imp. is encouraging that behavior. If we suppose that at the time that he decides it, the subject does not feel any cold as nec. of the impulse, that means that his heating imp. is not mobilized, reason why the corresponding directed tendency is inactive. However, that individual is firmly decided to install the heating and he does not stop until achieving it.

The impulses responsible for that behavior would be basically those of joy and of conservation, which are the two more direct representatives of the general law. That law, as we know, is the constant tendency of intention to assert pleasure and to deny displeasure, and that apart from that its purpose is to achieve the maximum pleasure and the minimum displeasure. The joy and conservation impulses are the permanent executors of that absolute aspiration of intention. Therefore, they are the ones “looking” at future, trying constantly to encourage the most favorable conditions of life that assure the maximum pleasure and the minimum displeasure. In this way, those impulses are those that in the example are interested in heating. That is what guarantees the presence of the pleasure of heating and the denial of the cold displeasure in winter and for the other winters. Then, the mediator imp. and the anticipatory bip. that are general supports for all the goals of intention, will see in the installation of the heating system a goal to achieve, supporting that interest.

The joy and conservation impulses use entrance ways to pleasure and displeasure of the other impulses, being earlier than them, based on the mere interest in the statement of pleasure and denial of displeasure in general. In the above example, these impulses “consider” the amount of pleasure and displeasure that the corporal heating and the cold respectively may produce and act according to that. But they are only acting based on the entrance ways to pleasure and displeasure of another impulse, what does not imply that said impulse is present in that interest.

The same regarding the interest of the apparatus of the personal welfare for the” feeding facilities” or for the “sexual security”. If a subject is worried about those virtual values after having eaten a lot of food or when the sexual imp. is satisfied, the nutritious or sexual impulses will not be present in those virtual interests. They will be the joy and conservation impulses, which always manage reality to assure the future maximum pleasure and the minimum displeasure, “consider” again the ways leading to pleasure and displeasure of those impulses, so as to ensure they will be future sources of pleasure and not of displeasure (dissatisfaction).

In the only cases in that the other impulses may be eventually present in the virtual interests in the personal welfare apparatus, is when their T.D are possibly unsatisfied and mobilized. This way, for example, the interest in the feeding facilities as virtual condition, may be reinforced by the own directed tendency of the nutritious imp. when this is in nec. state. However little may be influenced in this respect. When this impulse is prompted, it is basically interested in eating “now” and sumptuously; while that virtual interest in those “feeding facilities” fundamentally corresponds to the joy and conservation impulses that “think” of future pleasure and displeasure, desiring the first one and fearing the second respectively.

The joy and conservation impulses are practically the same general law in the form of impulses. As this law is the unity of its two partial tendencies: asserter of pleasure and denier of displeasure and as those impulses are the most representative forms of it, they constitute therefore the two arms with which intention manages almost all its matters. Such impulses are practically superimposed to all the interests of motivation.

Then, although the personal welfare apparatus includes all that is related with material or neither moral nor spiritual tendencies in the virtual field, its direct motivational components are just the impulses and bipulsions mentioned before, that is to say, those that are common ones in all the apparatuses plus the variation imp.; the possible occasional and revolving participation of some mobilized impulse would be added to it, which may be added to the interest in certain favorable virtual condition for its satisfaction.

Apparatus of the group welfare: group uneasiness-welfare

The only component added to the components shared by all the apparatuses, but that here it is fundamental, is the spiritual bip. We have already stated that this bipulsion, since divides its task between the field of what is concrete, where it tries to assert the favorable facts and to deny the unfavorable ones for the O.F.M.I., and that of virtual conditions. This last part of the bipulsion gives rise to the apparatus of the group welfare.

Apparatus of the general integration: unhappiness-happiness

The apparatuses of the personal moral, group moral, personal welfare and group welfare, form the four big pillars that sustain the structure of the general integration apparatus. The latter one is not more than the synthesis or group of the other ones. Therefore, all the elements shaping the structure of each of them are included in its composition.

The activity of this apparatus is not any other thing than the integration, coordination and organization of the performance of the apparatuses composing it. All ideals set by these ones converge towards happiness. No ideal escapes from the major order of the general integration apparatus. Any specific ideal always leads to the sponsor of the supreme apparatus, which conceives it as a step for the subject's integral happiness.

Within the world of motivational elements that shape the apparatus, the joy and conservation impulses stand out with great relevance. The joy one is the responsible for the desire of happiness and for the achievement of all the ideals leading to it, since the conditions of happiness ensure the plenty presence of the material, moral and spiritual pleasure. The conservation imp. on the other hand, responds with fear towards the unhappiness conditions. Therefore, it always avoids the negative virtual values or “anti-ideals” that are sure sources of material, moral or spiritual displeasure.

As we notice, the height where this apparatus is situated is above the clouds that hindered our vision in some moment. Here, at the summit of the spirit, there is no obstacle preventing us from clearly perceiving the essence of the general law. Happiness-unhappiness, in spite of being the values that are in the maximum heights of the psyche, show once more the presence of the general law in its fight against the opponent forces with remarkable transparency. Those supreme values express directly the absolute tendency of intention. It is for that reason that the main figures of the psyche: the joy and conservation impulses are in the heading of the apparatus, showing on what consists the essential aspiration of the subjective matter.

Although we have left the clouds, which can be seen floating below us, the strong wind still continues here in the summit of the mind. This is the wind alive of human soul blowing with its endless persistence from unhappiness towards happiness.

3. Functional components of the apparatuses

We have discussed so far on the elements composing the direct structure of the absolute interest in asserting the positive virtual values and denying the negative virtual values. Now we will see the motivational components that overturn their performance towards the concrete facts but that they naturally subordinate their activity to the integral movement of the apparatuses, being part of them in what is functional. From those components, we will see the fundamental ones.

Firstly, the anticipatory and aesthetics bipulsions are also in the field of what is concrete, supporting the behavior guided towards the purposes of all the apparatuses. The participation of those bipulsions is strongly strengthened in the pursuit of ideals. The first one is in charge of all the reactions of anticipatory pleasure or displeasure, as answers to the approach or absence of the achievement of ideals. Among those reactions, the main ones are: the feeling of success for the achievement of ideals and the bitterness of failure for it. Then, the aesthetics bip is the one constantly experiencing fantasies consisting of the mental representation of everything that would imply the achievement of the ideal, avoiding at the same time the images of what would suppose failure. These two bipulsions will not be mentioned in the functional composition of the apparatuses, as their presence in them is constant.

Ethical apparatus

The three ethical bipulsions and the teaching bip. act in the field of what is concrete, advising, correcting, suggesting, encouraging, threatening, rewarding or insulting, with the purpose that the others develop or improve their virtues. The approval or disapproval answers towards other people's concrete acts or teaching something specific, frequently entail the mediate purpose that the other one is better. In other words, what happens at level of concrete facts is carried out in terms of what is virtual or transcendent in the purpose pursued by the ethical apparatus.

Apparatus of the personal moral

The global moral bip., overturned to the concrete acts, as well as the bipulsions derived from it, organize their activity under the global purposes of the apparatus; that is to say, the concrete acts of those bipulsions respond to what is necessary to do to possess virtues or also to be an esteemed individual for one’s qualities.

The moral fight bip., overturned to the concrete facts (winning-losing or to do it better-worse), has an important role in the operation of the apparatus of the personal moral. It is the one that constitutes the testing field for virtues and faults. The values of the activity have there, the strongest indicative parameter that allows knowing in what place of reality one is situated. This way, if a subject believes to have exceptional virtues or if he believes that he is the best in certain quality or capacity, only his victory or “doing it better” concerning the supposed virtues, is what will demonstrate the truthfulness of that supposition. Whereas if he wins or looses, he will be able to know thanks to it, that his level was not as he used to believe, which will encourage him to develop his virtues in a better way. In other terms, the concrete part of the moral fight bip. is a “qualifier center” of virtues. Winning a game on many occasions for example, turns automatically a subject into skillful; while being loser is, depends on the case, the same as being clumsy. For that reason, the apparatus of the personal moral has a constant updated source of the “chart” of virtual values in winning-losing.

The ethics-seriousness and seriousness bipulsions “take turns” to respond aggressively towards the person who attempts against the own positive virtual values or contributes to generate the negative ones by rewarding the person who contributes to reassert the positive ones or to put an end to the own negative virtual conditions. In the personal moral apparatus, the attack to the values consists on the offense, humiliation, degradation. This causes a deep displeasure through the disapproval way. That is to say, insult is in essence a kind of disapproval or rejection, but so intense and frontal that produces a deep displeasure followed by the aggressive answer of the ethics-seriousness or seriousness bip. On the contrary, when honors or praises are received which are the opposite of the offense, they mean a contribution or reassertion of the own positive values or virtues. For that reason, according to the case, one will respond rewarding the honors.

Apparatus of the group moral

The portion of the group moral bip. that turns its activity into concrete facts, it is constantly guided towards the performance of positive or outstanding group acts. Such concrete acts constitute the way through which one arrives to the possession of group virtues in the field of the stability of values. Also, those positive group facts are useful as samples of the possession of virtues or as a consolidation of them. Therefore, the concrete acts of the moral behavior of the group are subordinated to the virtual purposes of the apparatus.

The social responsibility bip. and its derivations have also a subordinated activity to the moral interests of the group. The fulfillment of duty frequently lies in what one has to do to favor the ideals of tribal dignity and honor (or of the group). This way, the abnegation bip. pushes to make efforts and service acts tending to favor the achievement of those ideals. Then, the loyalty bip. has an important action field in the subordination to the common cause of the ideals of tribal honor. The duty of this bipulsion consists on the permanent performance of acts aligned to the line of behavior demanded by such ideals. The tribal devotion bip. impels the performance of individual acts implying offerings or tributes towards the supreme entity. Such acts, as well as honoring verbally the collective spirit, contribute to reassert the values of tribal dignity and honor. The heroism bip. that at the same time entails other expressions of duty, subordinates its activity naturally to all what is related with the tribal honor.

The personal performance bip. (together with all bipulsions working under its order) also subordinates its activity to the interests of the apparatus. The good or bad personal performance depend, in many cases, on the extent that the individual work contributes to the moral aspirations of the group.

The ethics-seriousness and dangerousness bipulsions are in charge of preserving the values of the group moral apparatus. The offense or injury towards the honor of the tribe are an attack to the subject's highest values. The strong displeasure and indignation that it provokes, are followed by the aggressive answer of the ethics-seriousness or dangerousness bip. On the contrary, such bipulsions commonly respond rewarding honors towards the one who contributes to reassert the values of tribal dignity.

The teaching bip. is also subordinated to the apparatus performance. The moral ideals of tribal dignity and honor use this bipulsion so that the education of the members of the tribe is guided towards the purposes of the apparatus.

The moral fight bip., in its concrete part (winning-losing, doing it better-worse, to be better than someone – someone is better than us), constitutes the testing field for the virtues of the group. For example, among the sports clubs participating in a championship, just the victory-defeat decide on who is better. Being champion is the virtual condition that means group virtues; it is the degree of the best one. But the concrete victory at the level of facts is what one has to attain, in order to reach that honorable virtual condition. For that reason, the moral fight bip., in its piece guided to the concrete field, subordinates its activity to the virtual purposes of the group moral apparatus. One tries to win or to do it better in the field of the concrete facts but aimed at getting a better location in what is virtual through the winner degree; or one tries to win in order to demonstrate that one is better or one has certain virtues.

During the primitive life, leading - being led or doing it worse or better, concerning the concrete achievements of a tribe, had to constitute the indicators, at level of concrete facts, to know which tribe is better or worse in certain group qualities. During the good times, where the feeding facilities, etc., made a great devotion to work unnecessary, they were likely to think about some challenges or games among neighboring tribes with an authentic sporty nature. That is to say, not only inside each tribe, diverse games of winning-losing would be developed, but also sporadic moral challenges would take place among those ones, for the enthusiasm of protagonists and spectators of the different tribes.

The supposition that those competitions or challenges of sport nature among neighboring tribes would have taken place sporadically, is based, for example, on the enthusiasm roused by championships among sport clubs, the inter-college or university tournaments, the sport competitions among populations or towns, etc. The natural capacity of enthusiasm that exists universally in relation to that type of competitions would not be something accidental, but it would rather have the premise of a certain primitive inheritance on the matter as well. On the other hand and this would be the most important thing, those matches would constitute an element of great usefulness for the tribes that practiced them occasionally. As the same would take place especially during favorable times when the labor activity was less necessary, these matches would be useful as one more element for the maintenance of capacities. At the same time, they would also be useful to encourage the interest in order to improve abilities permanently. The defeat of the tribe’s members for example, “warns” them that they are not so good as they believed to be, and that will foster them to try to improve their abilities. Instead, without that objective parameter they would continue being satisfied, supposing that they are the best, reason why there would not be major reasons in trying to get an improvement of their capacities.

Since under the primitives’ life conditions, all the objective premises were present in order to take place (moral-spiritual development, relationships of cordiality and respect among the tribes, sporty spirit, desire to be the best and endless material possibilities for a great variety of moral games or challenges with sport nature), the tribes that took advantage of such possibilities and in those tribes that at the same time, there would exist the capacity to feel enthusiasm for it, it would be possible to achieve a considerable common advantage for survival in relation to other tribes unable to take advantage of that important stimulus for keeping and improving the global capacities of performance.

Although we are just making a supposition, we do have certain propensity, unjustified in many cases, to underestimate the primitives, denying in them what we see working widespread at the present time or that we know that it worked in the known history, forgetting that our predecessors of the time of the primary social organism, that is to say those already human rational beings, were exactly like us in the entirety of the essential aspects, not having reasons to believe that they did not know how to take advantage of the material opportunities within their reach, moreover when that ones, apart from encouraging enthusiasm, were useful for survival. Neither we find it difficult to suppose the possibility that the primitives faced among themselves in war, nor we should think of another type of more friendly relationship among tribes as an impossible one.

Apparatus of the personal welfare

Apart from the anticipatory bip. (success-failure, good choice - mistake or all reaction of anticipatory pleasure or displeasure) and the aesthetics bip. (fantasies, realistic or not, of the ideal to achieve) that are functional supports for the purposes of all the apparatuses, the ethics-seriousness or dangerousness bipulsions and the ethical apparatus would only be added as important functional components.

The ethics-seriousness and dangerousness bipulsions respond aggressively in front of the attack to the personal welfare values and reward those ones helping to reassert them.

The ethical apparatus contributes to the purposes of the personal welfare apparatus with the repudiation and the unconformity towards other subjects or groups whose negative qualities (wickedness, selfishness, injustice) are conceived as causers of the own uneasiness or as hindrances for the conditions of personal welfare. The ethical apparatus is also present in the gratefulness and shows of esteem and gratitude towards those who favor their own welfare state.

Apparatus of the group welfare

The spiritual bip, referred to the concrete facts, responds with spiritual pleasure or displeasure respectively, before the events that mean a help or obstacle for the welfare of the group. At this level of concrete facts, the spiritual pleasure or displeasure in general take place simultaneously with the reactions of the anticipatory bip.; that is to say, if a fact announces for example, something bad for the O.F.M.I., not only causes an anticipatory displeasure of what will come next, but that announcement is in itself something bad for the O.F.M.I. as well. For that reason, in such cases the spiritual displeasure arises out together with the “habitual” reaction of the anticipatory bip.

The kindness and generosity bipulsions are also guided towards the performance of concrete acts that contribute to the welfare of partners and of the group as a whole.

The social responsibility bip., as well as the bipulsions derived from it, which entail in their essence the fulfillment and non-fulfillment of duty, usually subordinate their activity, overturned to concrete acts, to the virtual purposes of the apparatus. Among those bipulsions, we can mention the following as the fundamental ones: abnegation, justice, loyalty, and heroism. The loyal and heroic acts of service, of justice are usually subordinated to the absolute purposes of the apparatus (statement of the welfare and denial of the social uneasiness).

The personal performance bip. is regularly adjusted to the purposes of the apparatus. The good or bad performance depends naturally on the level in that the personal labor contributes to the welfare of the group.

The teaching bip. guides its educating and training activity according to what is better for the welfare of the group.

The rational bip. also participates here, whereas what is sensible or rational of the ideas, proposals, projects or actions of the subjects, also depend on their adaptation to what is favorable for common welfare.

The ethical apparatus is present when it is considered that the group or social welfare depends on the moral qualities of other subjects or groups that favor or hinder it.

The ethics-seriousness and dangerousness bipulsions respond aggressively before what attempts against the welfare of the group or reward those contributing to reassert it.

Apparatus of the general integration

As well as the direct structure of its absolute values consists on the group of the absolute virtual values of the other apparatuses, in the same way, the functional components that subordinate their concrete acts to the purposes of those, are also comprised in the performance of this apparatus of apparatuses. The affirmation of happiness and the denial of unhappiness are the absolute purposes that organize and direct the general guidelines of the psychic performance and the human behavior.

[Entering here you can see the structure of the apparatuses].

© Author: Alberto E. Fresina
Title: "The Laws of Psyche"
Title of the original Spanish Version:
"Las Leyes del Psiquismo"
Fundar Editorial
Printed in Mendoza, Argentina
I.S.B.N. 987-97020-9-3
Mendoza, 14th July, 1999
Copyright registered at the National Copyright Bureau in 1988, and at the Argentine Book Camera in 1999, year of its publication.
Translated by Ana El kassir with the collaboration of Marcela Berenguer
Characteristic of the original copy in Spanish: Number of pages: 426; measures: 5.9 x 8.27 x 1 inch; weight: 1.2lb.