On the Structure of the Unconscious

The concept of the unconscious plays a fundamental part in many psychological systems, although as its very name indicates it is defined more by what it is not than by what it is. And yet, the unconscious as a systematic concept is not synonymous with the non-conscious. Rather does the existence of an unconscious presuppose the existence, potential or actual, of a conscious. The movements of a stone are not called unconscious, whereas those of an amoeba might be. The unconscious then is something which is not yet or no more conscious, but which may become conscious. Why do we call this something unconscious? Because we think of it as part of mind, not of matter. It is a current view to consider consciousness as the main characteristic of the mind. Therefore, when one found it necessary to go beyond consciousness in the description and explanation of mind, one imagined the nonconscious parts of mind to be fundamentally alike to the conscious ones, fundamentally alike, that is, in all its aspects or properties with the exception of [43] being conscious. Consequently the so-called elements of mind were thought to exist in two forms, the conscious and the unconscious.