Point 4: Ego-melancholy

Protoanalysis

Structure

The reasoner starts efficiently [III], the active, then when things are not going well, he moves to the point of observation [V], the attractive. Becoming indecisive, the function, he goes to his point of reasoning endlessly, the result.

Point 4 is known as “Ego-Melancholy”. The fixation is also known as “Over-Reasoner”.

The over-reasoner character wants to understand the outside. He wants to find beautiful reasons. He is always going to have a question, because he doesn’t have explanations for the reasons. When he turns inside, he is going to reason about himself, and he is going to continue asking ‘why?’ and ‘why?’ indefinitely. Whatever the reason is, there is always going to be another ‘why?’ Simply speaking, the Reasoner Fixation can be described as a constant ‘questioner.’ This makes Reasoners elaborate formulas and systems as mechanisms of defense for answering their constant ‘why’ and disbelief, which finally produce their typical melancholic attitude. It could be described as a constant intellectual frustration, because the Reasoner questions ‘why,’ not in a transcendental way, but in a small, personal way as in, ‘Why was I born a woman?,’ ‘Why are my parents such and such?,’ ‘Why doesn't anybody love me?’ If they go out shopping on a rainy day, they will ask, ‘Why does it have to rain when I go shopping?’ The constant questioning of the Reasoner is the questioning of one taking too much of the load of the world on their shoulders. Because of this, they are extremely susceptible, believing they are constantly cheated, and they see the world in general as being opposed to them, not giving them their ‘fair share.’

This ego derives from the Image Ego, which is a response to the Relation Instinct, which in Type IV becomes over-dominant resulting in an attitude of comparisons. The psychic poison of the Relation Instinct at the root of Ego-Melancholy is Jealousy.

Ego-Melancholy experiences a sense of being criticized in the childhood relationship, or having the child's core identity called into question and there arises a feeling of being flawed, with a Father figure. The ego leads to being envious of the lives of others who seem to be so free of flawed nature found within those who reside at the 4th fixation so naturally the question arises, “why must I have been denied a proper life?”

The main ego-characteristic of this fixation is Melancholia. The Passion which feeds this ego is Envy. The primary defense mechanism is Sublimation, the transferring of unacceptable behaviors, idealizations, and ideals into more socially acceptable forms of activities. Sublimation commonly gives rise to 3 professions: Art, scientific inquiry and higher physical activity. The agency responsible for sublimation is a conflict of the Id and Superego which gives rise to the Ego as the only stable structure (Hence why the Type 4 is an Ego type) since the type 4 has no stable Id or Superego. The 4th point's true ideals are rising to the top in various expressions that are unknown to the outside observer and as such the true nature of such an individual is obfuscated to the outside world. Worsening of this fixation can lead to Borderline Personality Disorder. A secondary defense mechanism is Reaction-formation against envy, and deems other things mundane and ordinary and as such unworthy of their attention, which is done in defense of an image. Further worsening leads to psychosomatic illness.

Domain

Becoming fixated in the Intellectual Domain, there is a swing to the dichotomies of that domain. This can manifest in a positive sense as a focus on Reason on one side, or having an Overview at the other side. It can manifest in a negative sense as Sophistry at one extreme or Superficiality at the other extreme. These dichotomies are represented by two characters: the Argumentative character at one end, the Shallow character at the other. Envies invade the consciousness in this domain, manifesting as the desire of connection or understanding of another which is not present. The stress of being fixated and imbalanced in this domain can lead to Crime as a compensatory mechanism. The poison of this domain is Deception, a riptide ranging from reason to fallacy.

Liberation

The Trap which simultaneously restricts but potentially liberates this ego is its focus on Analysis, not to be confused with the 5th points trap of observation, to be observed requires a detachment and withdrawal; this is rather a search of reason for all that is around the individual. The Way of self-realization of this ego is the Way of Clarity, or the way of pure, clear, objective analysis, embodied by point 1 on the Enneagram.

The Holy Idea which acts as a catalyzer for the transformation of this ego is Holy Origin, or Divine Origin. This can lead to the Virtue (energy) of Equanimity.

According to Ichazo, Divine Origin is:

The awareness that all individuals are born as the result of natural, objective laws; that these laws continue to operate within them throughout their lives. Because all the laws are interconnected, each individual always has an intimate physical connection with the Totality of Reality – the Cosmos. From this springs true originality.