First, as to the terms we shall use. The word subconscious means that which is below the conscious level; but the word unconscious often conveys the same idea; and there are cognate words like co-conscious, subliminal, supraliminal, and several others used to describe operations and results which are out of the conscious sphere. For our purposes it is not necessary to discuss these words at length; all we want to make clear is the fact that certain fundamental operations are outside our normal consciousness, and in some respects beyond our control. These we shall call subconscious. It has been truly said that, “man does not live by consciousness alone. ” There is a hidden world within us, and it has a great deal more to do with our success and our general welfare than you may have imagined.
Hypnotism and Suggestion
The phenomena of hypnotism and suggestion are not explainable except by the hypothesis of the subconscious. Let us take the ease of a man who on being hypnotized is told that on the following day, at 3 p. m. he will write a letter to a friend with whom he has not corresponded for years. On being awakened out of the hypnotic condition he is asked whether he can recall anything which has been said to him and he answers in the negative. But the next day at 3 o’clock he begins to write that letter under the impression that it is entirely his own idea. There have been too many experiments of this kind to doubt their genuineness. Certain questions naturally arise: Where is the suggested idea from the time of its inception to the time it becomes operative” How is it that the individual is totally unconscious of the origin of the suggestion? What enables him to act at the right moment? These questions are practically answered if we accept the hypothesis of the subconscious. If we reject it, they merely accentuate the mystery.
Psycho-Analysis and the Unconscious
In recent years the school of medical psychologists founded by Freud and his co-workers has created a deep and world wide interest in the Subconscious, or, as they prefer to call it, the Unconscious. It would take too long even to outline their doctrines, or the severe criticisms which have been passed upon them, so we shall be content with the exposition of the central idea. The method used is called Psycho-analysis, which simply means that in tracing the origin of ailments, both physical and mental, an inquiry is made into the history of the patient’s thought, believing that the chief, if not the sole, cause of his evident trouble is to be found in some forgotten happening which has thus in some way become detached or split off from consciousness, but which is nevertheless capable of causing a lot of mischief. It is clear that this hypothesis postulates the existence of an Unconscious sphere of mental action, and, as will be seen later, the numerous and far reaching applications of the method employed are so striking, in spite of evident exaggerations, that even critics who do not accept the basis of psycho- analysis acknowledge the significance of the underlying idea: they see in it a theory as impressive in the field of psychology as natural selection is in the field of science. We do not agree with all the conclusions of the psycho-analysts, but this does not prevent our interest in their work nor our confidence in their ultimate accomplishment of much good service, both to psychology and medicine. Out of the present conflict raging around the subject will arise a body of truth that cannot but further the progress of psychology.
Summary of Evidence
If the student will now turn back and reread the evidence we have accumulated he will have little or no difficulty in accepting the existence of the subconscious. It shows how we gain experience without knowing it. It supplies the best working explanation of how knowledge is retained in the mind. It accounts for skill which demands no effort for its execution and it offers the only rationale of the ability to solve profound problems or to originate new ideas during sleep. It gives the only rational interpretation of the phenomena of Hypnotism and Suggestion; and it is the very center and foundation of Psycho-analysis.
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