What is the unconscious

[dms1972]

I am trying to understand a few things here.

This term "unconscious" seems to have come from Freud.

But in my reading I see Leibnitz also acknowleged the existence of the unconsious.

On the face of it it seems to be whatever I am not conscious of.


By the way I am aware of the Iceberg metaphor : the conscious mind is the one tenth above the surface... etc.

Are we dependent on Freud's definitions / explanations for this? I believe his explanation may have been more complex than the illustration of an iceberg.

Also Freud's model of the mind was topological. What does this mean? Are there other models of mind?

Rather than people just giving their own ideas, can someone quote from a source.

Thanks for any help on this

 

[holingragged]

Great written... Even i was having a same question..!!!

 

[GrowingSmaller]

I am more faliliar with the subconsicous, but maybe the same works for the unconscious. I see friends "projecting" their opinions onto others, in the sense that (a chrittian example) if my friend sees me give to a beggar, then he may say "you love your neighbour, your a christian!".

So hes projecting his faith onto me in a sense, but I dont think hes aware of the process at the time.

Another example may be interpreting groups of youths on the street. They may seem threatening, but thats possibly just a projecction of my mind.


This type of thinking may date back to Buddhism and before.

Eg http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Cittamatra

 

[PsychoSarah]

The only Freud theories that I know of that still carry some academic weight in the main body of psychology is defense mechanisms, such as denial. His idea of the subconscious (which is clearly what you are describing) has mostly been dealt away with.

 

[holingragged]

Nice poem Pshycosarah... great going..!!!

 

[PsychoSarah]

Nice poem Pshycosarah... great going..!!!

Why thank you... Nice spelling

 

[Colter]

The unconscious mind is where our motives live, it speaks the language of the heart.

 

[holingragged]

Why thank you... Nice spelling

haha.. whatever..!!!

 

[dms1972]

Ok, thanks for replies. Apart from it being something I thought it might be interesting to start a thread on. I was interested because of having had some psychotherapy in the past.

I agree Psychosarah that the whole psychoanalytical approach seems to be unpopular now. This seems to be in favor of CBT type therapies. The government seems in the UK to favor the CBT approach. Its quick usually lasts about ten sessions, and apparently many people find it helpful. Sounds great except I just don't think everyones difficulties can be helped by it.

Psychoanalysis also has a mixed success rate. The founders Freud etc. clearly had a lot invested in their theories.

Denial and repression are not quite the same either, and often used in quite different contexts.

I think most of the ideas that people now have are very simplified notions of what Freud thought. Not to say he was always right, but criticism should focus on what he actually thought.

I know Freud is often held up as one of the big enemies of christianity. Maybe he is. He certainly comes in for heavy criticism in some quarters.

A few christians counsellors have selectively used some insights of his, and yet not absorbed his whole mindset, eg. Meier / Minirth. Karl Stern wrote a book about how Freud's theories could be made philosophically neutral. Frank Lake accepted some of his insights but thought Freud had put secondary things in the place of primary.

But if some therapies don't recognise there are depths then they seems to me no better and maybe quite harmful - behavourism for example.

 

[dms1972]

Ok, thanks for replies. Apart from it being something I thought it might be interesting to start a thread on. I was interested because of having had some psychotherapy in the past.

I agree Psychosarah that the whole psychoanalytical approach seems to be unpopular now. This seems to be in favor of type CBT type therapies. The government seems in the UK to favor the CBT approach. Its quick usually lasts about ten sessions, and apparently many people find it helpful. Sounds great except I just don't think everyones difficulties can be helped by it.

Psychoanalysis also has a mixed success rate. The founders Freud etc. clearly had a lot invested in their theories.

Denial and repression are not quite the same either, and often used in quite different contexts.

I think most of the ideas that people now have are very simplified notions of what Freud thought. Not to say he was always right, but criticism should focus on what he actually thought.

I know Freud is often held up as one of the big enemies of christianity. Maybe he is. He certainly comes in for heavy criticism in some quarters.

A few christians counsellors have selectively used some insights of his, and yet not absorbed his whole mindset, eg. Meier / Minirth. Karl Stern wrote a book about how Freud's theories could be made philosophically neutral. Frank Lake accepted some of his insights but thought Freud had put secondary things in the place of primary.

But if some therapies don't recognise there are depths then they seems to me no better and maybe quite harmful - behavourism for example.

 

[parsley]

We are never dependent on Freud, lol. He knew himself well, but we are not all like him.

But I think by the term unconscious, he meant there is a lot about ourselves that we don't admit to.

 

[lesliedellow]

The unconscious is a lot of things. At the lowest level, it is the system software which is controlling your body. At the other extreme, it is something which almost breaks into consciousness, but not quite, because something with a higher priority has control of your conscious mind.