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The Superego (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the deposit of centuries of public opinion.

The Superego (n.) is, ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠in Freud's sense, not an inherited part of the psyche but the consciously acquired moral code — a patriarchal legacy like the Ten Commandments.

The Superego (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the self still projected onto public opinion: a necessary, unavoidable stand-in for actually experiencing the self.

The Superego (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠the sum of collective beliefs and values handed down by tradition — like the Torah for the orthodox Jew, a solidly entrenched system above the ego and the cause of many conflicts.

The Superego (n.) is ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠our version of Lévy-Bruhl's collective representations: the tribal teachings by which civilized man, like the primitive, makes almost every choice without noticing.

The Superego (n.) was ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠for Jung a furtive attempt by Freud to smuggle the old image of Jehovah into psychological theory, just as the school's stubborn father-complex is a misunderstood religious function.

The Superego (n.) was ⁠​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​⁠Freud's correct name for traditional values; but when these weaken with age or criticism, archetypal ideas rush in to fill the gap, and these Freud never knew, held fast by nineteenth-century positivism.