![]() ![]() The unconscious is divided into the personal and the collective unconscious: the personal unconscious consists entirely of material acquired during the individual’s life whereas the collective unconscious is the psychic equivalent of the inherited brain structure. It is suggested that such theories should be replaced by the view that psychological processes derive from a libidinal energy source that simply “is.” The psyche is held to be no more explainable than life. Although Freud’s observation that most of the represssed content of consciousness has to do with sexuality is accepted, his theory that sexuality is the fundamental instinct and activating principle of the psyche is rejected as an antiquated, reductionist, single forced approach to an explanation of the unconscious. On the basis of empirical findings, the concept of the unconscious as the sum total of all repressed desires and forgotten memories gradually took form. Medical men treating severe forms of psychopathology, however, found the unconscious to be a useful construct. The term “unconscious” was at first spurned by experimental psychologists who believed that everything psychic was conscious. ![]() The unconscious is discussed not as a mere psychological construct but rather as an integral part of man’s psyche, history and world view. 2nd ed., Princeton University Press, 1970. ![]()
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