unconscious

there are certain patterns we can discern from the conscious mind that we can assume are true of the unconscious mind. we start with the premise that the conscious mind is a tiny part of the entire mind, which is comprised of both the conscious and unconscious. the conscious / unconscious bifurcation of mind is a valid dichotomy that can tell us patterns for other dichotomies we can define. for example, the unconscious part of the mind is a larger part of the mind than the conscious, at each given moment. this tells us that dichotomies and bifurcations we derive in general, have a dominant and a subordinate part, as outlined in the study of contradictions by mao and lenin, etc. the unconscious mind takes primacy in this example, because it comprises a larger part of the human psyche, and of experience, than the conscious mind does. other bifurcations we derive in the psyche, we can also assume they follow this dominant / subordinate, or bigger / smaller pattern.

we say the unconscious is larger than the conscious, and that means that the unconscious mind actually contains the conscious mind. not all bifurcations and dichotomies follow this pattern of the dominant containing the subordinate, but the unconscious / conscious dichotomy does, and we should consider if the dichotomies we analyze have an element of one part of the dichotomy containing the other.

the unconscious contains the conscious because the unconscious is so large in scope that it is impossible to conceive for the conscious, and the conscious only grows moment by moment that the unconscious allows it to grow. in other words, our understanding of our self is always expanding, our awareness of our self is always expanding, but that implies there are things we constantly don’t know about ourselves, that we must discover, otherwise the conscious mind would occupy all of our psyche. as it stands, the unconscious mind occupies most of our psyche, because we are unaware of the vast majority of our bodily functions, as well as our bodily structures. we must probe into this information over time, and through history, and cannot figure out the intricacies of our body with purely somatic feeling. in this way, the conscious mind is extremely limited, compared to our unconscious mind. the structures we associate with the unconscious mind (nervous systems which allow for reflexes, something we associate with out unconsciousness), also allow our conscious mind to exist as well. the structures for our conscious mind are believed to be the more developed parts of our brain, such as the frontal lobe, while our brain stem is associated with our unconscious mind, as it is associated with breathing, sleep, etc. 

if the unconscious mind is the dominant part of our psyche, then what does this imply for our psyche, and our sense of self? it implies that our self is malleable, and there is not two distinct roles in the psyche that are responsible for our conscious and unconscious experience. what is one day unconscious can become the next day, conscious. the two are not essentially separated functions of the brain, but processes of the brain and body can take form in consciousness or unconsciousness. to say the psyche, or sense of self, is malleable, means to deny essentialism as the nature of the conscious and unconscious, and that either can become either. this is mediated by the subconscious, which refers to the actions and thoughts that we take which are unconscious at first, and then become conscious, either through contemplation, or after the fact. an example of this are intrusive thoughts, whose production is purely unconscious, which our conscious mind becomes aware of instantly. but we say that the production of intrusive thoughts is purely unconscious, because it is our consciousness and understanding that REACTS to those thoughts. it reacts to those thoughts in a way that is surprised, and we carry that element of being surprised when we are reacting to such intrusive thoughts. another example i have talked about before is reflexes, where we are not aware of our action in the given moment, but we are only made aware of it after the fact, usually immediately after the fact. the conscious can be conceptualized as a constant reaction to the whims and actions of the unconscious. 

the fact that our reflexes can carry out such complex tasks and procedures, suggests to us that our unconscious mind is just as “intelligent” as our conscious mind. without our thinking or knowing, our everyday reflexes, especially in heated and dangerous moments, suggest a complexity to the tasks and parts of ourselves that we don’t know, that suggest our conscious mind (the part we do know) is merely a part of it. the significance of this is that…. we will always be subject to our unconscious mind, as it holds primacy. if our conscious mind is a constant reaction to such unconsciousness, then we can and do have control over it. also, consciousness is merely a small speck of the sea of our psyche that is unconsciousness, as we do not know the happenings of the vast majority of our psyche and bodily structures. this view is clarifying, demystifying, and humbling, as it does not admit powerlessness, but a true description of the structure of our experience. it also gives us a model on how to affect our psyche, when we realize that our consciousness is only a small part of our unconscious. it gives us a framework with which to view certain affects like emotions, as well as interpersonal interaction. 

regarding the subconscious mediating between the unconscious and the conscious, this point is very important, as it describes how the unconscious is transformed into the conscious and vice versa. an example are primary and secondary emotions, where anger is usually a secondary emotion we feel, that is felt to cover up our primary emotion, usually that of sadness. in this example, the primary emotion (sadness) is the unconscious part of the mind, and the secondary emotion (anger) is the conscious part of the mind, that preoccupies our focus in that given situation. through the subconscious, the primary emotion is then brought into our focus and conscious understanding, and this is another example of our unconscious mind being transformed into our conscious mind. another example of the subconscious meditating between the two is the act of compartmentalization, where a thought or action is focused on in one’s conscious focus, which is then pushed down, or repressed, into the unconscious mind. so the subconscious, through myriad forms, can mediate between the unconscious and conscious mind, transforming between the two. whatever is repressed or suppressed into the unconscious mind, has the same quality or qualia as if they were experienced in the field of one’s conscious mind. this is because we took the unconscious mind and the conscious mind to be the same thing, or having the same fundamental qualities. what this means is, the expressions of one, can be expressed in the other, and the two can be expressed in terms of each other, as we have seen with (intrusive) thoughts, (unconscious) reflexes, and (conscious) repression.