Sigmund Freud’s Theory Of The Unconscious (and New Theories)

Traditionally, scientists and many philosophers have considered that human behavior is governed by the conscious thought The belief that we are capable of knowing all the important facts about our environment and our body and that we decide how to behave based on this information has been widespread, perhaps because rationality has been a central value among naturalists and thinkers in recent centuries. .

However, today we know that a very large part of the processes that influence our thinking and our actions are based on things that we do not know directly: that is, elements of the unconscious. Despite this discovery, it is easy to fall into confusion when we talk about the unconscious, since this concept is defined differently by the freudian theory (and later psychodynamic trends) and the neuroscience of our days.

Where does this confusion come from? The precedent of Freudian theory

Although Sigmund Freud did not use the scientific method to investigate the processes by which thought is governed, it can be said that he noticed the existence of a type of unconscious (or, rather, “the unconscious,” according to their terminology) long before scientists even glimpsed it. The unconsciousness that Freud speaks of in his writings, however, is not the same one that is studied today in the neurosciences. Among other things, because neither he nor the rest of the researchers of mental processes still knew the organic functioning by which higher mental processes are governed at an unconscious level, beyond having described certain general principles. Thus, Freud wove a network of hypotheses relatively independent of what sciences study today neurosciences.

It is important to be clear about this idea, since it is often understood that, since Freud tried to rely on principles of physics and physiology to propose his explanations about the mind, these explanations are based on an exhaustive observation of the functioning of the body at the level biological. Thus, although in the principles of psychoanalysis the brain was compared to a steam engine, that image can be taken as little more than an analogy that served to better understand the explanation itself, rather than the brain.

Research limited by context

In short, Freud knew that he did not have the means to study the physical processes by which the functioning of the brain is governed, and he believed that this topic was very relevant to understanding how thought and the unconscious proposed in Freudian theory work. Mind researchers had very few resources to study the functioning of the brain, and that had clear implications for understanding how what was then called “the mind” works. This can be seen in Beyond the Pleasure Principle (1920), in which Sigmund Freud said:

“Biological science is really a domain of infinite possibilities. We must expect from it the most surprising clarifications and we cannot guess what answer it will give, in a few decades, to the problems we have posed. Perhaps these answers will be such that they destroy our artificial edifice of hypotheses”.

The gap between psychoanalysis and neurosciences

Both Freud and the disciples of Freudian theory who did not distance themselves from the teachings of their teacher use the term unconscious to refer to the mental content that, at a given moment, is outside the repertoire of thoughts that the person is aware of and that, somehow, remain hidden somewhere in their psyche. However, partly because of their approach and partly because of how little was known about the nervous system at that time, their explanations of the unconscious are divorced from fundamental principles about brain mechanics and the neuronal activation associated with consciousness that they study. the neurosciences.

In short, the unconscious that Freud spoke of It served to refer to memories, perceptions and mixtures of feelings that, responding to a need, are inaccessible through conscious knowledge It can be said that, although the current conception of the unconscious is not the one that Freud used, the latter continues to compete with the other to be the first in which “the unconscious” occupies an important position in an extensive theoretical corpus.

The unconscious of the simple

The unconscious proposed by Freudian theory is composed of specific rational and emotional elements that remain repressed because they have a problematic meaning for the conscious mind. That is, they are not kept hidden due to their complexity or their lack of relevance in the person’s daily life. Quite the contrary, these repressed elements that some psychoanalysts refer to are usually relatively simple ideas that can be “translated” into consciousness through symbolic operations and whose presence in the unconscious, despite going unnoticed, forms a kind of “glasses” to read reality through thoughts that, in a certain sense, are recurring.

Freudian theory holds that The contents of the unconscious must be simple enough in themselves to be able to be challenged by a multitude of stimuli typical of everyday life, although the way in which consciousness blocks these thoughts is complex, since it uses original combinations between symbols to give expression to what is repressed. Dreams, for example, are for Freud a vehicle for the expression of repressed thoughts conveyed through symbolism.

A touch of mystery

Of course, this definition of unconscious It’s problematic and confusing since language itself can be considered a way of filter the unconscious through symbols (words), which means that unconscious thoughts, by their very nature, never fully come to light and therefore we cannot fully know them, since they are in constant transformation on their journeys to consciousness . This kind of obscurantism is to be expected due to the complexity of the object of study of psychoanalysts, the topics treated by Freudian theory and its research methodology.

The unconscious always has a side that cannot be accessed by simple word This is why psychoanalysts claim the importance of the interaction between patient and therapist over reading self-help books, which contain principles codified a priori through a series of symbols that the author has chosen and ordered without knowing the reader.

The New Unconscious

Although Freud may be considered the “discoverer” of the unconscious, he is so as introduced a way of thinking about the human being as an animal that does not know all the processes that guide its action but not because he has found the unconscious through a systematic and detailed investigation of it.

Freudian theory is a child of its time, and is constrained by the technical limitations Both Freud and some of the psychologists of his time speculated about the existence of unconscious aspects of human thought and behavior, but their study methodology (introspection, observation of patients with mental disorders, etc.) only provided them with indirect knowledge. of these. Fortunately, despite the limitations with which Freudian theory was forged at the time, nowadays neuroscience and the technological developments that accompany it allow for a much more complete study of this topic.

Freudian theory introduced for the first time a more or less detailed conception of the unconscious as a determining element in human behavior, while the scientific community of the second half of the 20th century, curiously, continued to believe in the primacy of conscious thought processes. on the rest of the human body. Today, however, the tables have turned in the world of neuroscience and The vast majority of researchers rule out conscious thought as the main driver of our behavior Research into the unconscious by neuroscientists is something that has appeared recently, but has borne fruit very quickly.

Distinguishing terms based on new discoveries

The unconscious that neuroscientists and psychologists currently refer to is far from the concept presented by Freudian theory. To distinguish between these two ideas, that of the unconscious of psychoanalysts and that of the unconscious of scientists, the latter concept has been given the name New Unconscious

While the unconscious of Freudian theory exists as a redoubt to limit thoughts that are difficult to digest by consciousness, which blocks them by keeping them away from itself, the New Unconscious is not based on forces of motivation and drive or on forms of repression or “blocking” of thoughts according to their content. The relationship between conscious and unconscious processes that scientists now talk about is not based on defense mechanisms, but on the brain architecture, which is simply not made so that everything that happens in it has a transcription to human consciousness. The New Unconscious is truly unconscious, and cannot be known indirectly by analyzing the “manifestations” of it.

The unconscious aspects of thinking exist as part of a cycle (the Perception-Action cycle) about which we are not interested in knowing everything. We are not interested in instantly memorizing each and every aspect of the person we have just met, and that is why we unconsciously look for one or two references to his identity: for example, his hairstyle. Nor are we interested in dedicating ourselves to carefully studying all the issues on which we have to make a decision, and that is why we decide to unconsciously follow the paths of heuristics, nor is it necessary to be aware that the left shoe presses very lightly, nor is it essential to consciously direct the movements of the right arm when looking out of the bus window.

These processes must be carried out with discretion not because of their content, but because of their nature, because they are something that can be managed automatically, leaving free space in consciousness for special tasks. In Freudian theory, however, what is unconscious is unconscious precisely because of its significance its importance.

The New Unconscious is distinguished from the term used by Freudian theory because does not respond to a personal history or the problematic internalization of past experiences In any case, its reason for being is found in a brain structure designed so that only some tasks and functions are part of the conscious, while the rest is delegated to a set of automatic operations, some of which we can partially control. if necessary (like breathing).

New Unconscious and Freudian theory, united only by appearances

In short, the unconscious aspect of the most abstract thoughts, such as the automatic association that can occur between the perception of a dog on the street and the memories of the last vacation in Barcelona, ​​respond to the same mechanics by which the processes responsible of making us blink tend to be unconscious most of the time. This is the logic by which the New Unconscious is governed: the pure biological pragmatism

While the unconscious of Freudian theory is based on motivational mechanisms, the New Unconscious is not a prison of inappropriate emotions and thoughts, but a place where all the series of operations are found that we also have no special interest in controlling and whose automatism makes our lives easier.