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Unconscious (Theory originated by Dr)

THE, a theory, originated by Dr. Sigmund Freud, forming the basis of a system employed in the interpretation and treatment of certain mental diseases. This hypothesis of the unconscious, countering to a large extent the former theory of the subconscious , was promulgated in 1893, and is to the effect that the conscious life, varying in its intensity from its clearness at the focus of attention to the marginal states of sounds and sights and other conditions of the senses felt or known in different degrees, has its foundation in the unconscious, which never enters the condition of consciousness, but still, as the stage on which the senses act as a base, directs and conditions the selection of ideas that enter consciousness. The unconscious, according to the new doctrine, is an instinctive force which does not reason in conscious modes. Its indications in the field of consciousness are expressions too formless and elemental for acceptance in social intercourse. As a result there stands at the portal of consciousness an agent or censor whose function is the duty of so transforming the nascent desires or expressions as they raise that they shall not offend the moral sense in the conscious life. The unconscious idea is represented as one which is unable to penetrate consciousness no matter how powerful it may become; and one moreover which we do not perceive but whose existence we concede because of other signs and proofs , An intermediate state such as that out of which mental processes represented by much self-evident systems as are involved in pure mathematics is called the "foreconscious." The impelling influence of the unconscious is said to be illustrated by such lapses as the forgetting of names, which is supposed to be occa- UNDERWOOD sioned by latent reluctance to admit them into consciousness owing to unpleasant associations. The influence of the unconscious, however, is shown most powerfully in dreams, and their interpretation according to what is called psychocalled led psychoanalysis is the leading element in Freud's system. The unconscious is considered to be conditioned largely by heredity, fulfilling the blind desire epitomizing the mental evolution of the human family. The primordial psychic desire or libido, ontogenetically developed, atisfac seeks satisfaction first in the respiratory, nutritive and eliminative activities of the infant, then in the auto -investigative or auto-erotic stage, then in the development of the ego, and at last in puberty and sexual love in which interest is transferred to the true mate in the opposite sex. Various phases of the unconscious mental life are labeled by Freud as the Narcissistic period, the edipus complex, and the like, and a fundamental type is supposed to be represented in the frequent attitude of children toward their parents, making the mother the object of affection and regarding the father as a rival. Not only in the individual but in the family and race are the effects of the unconscious seen, and such movements as Freemasonry, alchemy, and the like are described as such manifestations. The doctrine of the unconscious is recognized at present merely as a working formula, to be improved and developed with the march of experience and to be tested by its practical results in psychological treatment.