Review article

FOUR APPROACHES TO THE UNCONSCIOUS

Olivier Le Bon ; Laboratoire de psychologie médicale, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium

Abstract

Background: The concept of the unconscious has evolved across disciplines, originating in philosophy, hypnosis, and psychoanalysis, and later redefined through modern neuroscience and cognitive science. Whereas early models primarily regarded it as a repository of repressed content, contemporary perspectives emphasize its adaptive, dynamic, multi-layered, and often non-pathological functions. Subjects and methods: This article provides a conceptual review of four major frameworks - psychoanalysis, Ericksonian hypnosis, cognitive sciences, and neuroscience. Through comparative analysis, it examines how each tradition conceptualizes unconscious processes and their relationship with conscious awareness. Results: Despite divergent epistemologies, these approaches converge on several points: unconscious processes are real, influential, and often operate independently of conscious control. Each discipline contributes unique mechanisms - symbolic repression (psychoanalysis), therapeutic suggestion (hypnosis), automatic heuristics (cognitive science), and subcortical emotional circuits (neuroscience). Integration across these models reveals a layered topology of mind, encompassing dynamic, pre-reflective, and subliminal forms of unconscious activity. Conclusions: A comprehensive understanding of the unconscious requires interdisciplinary synthesis. Such integration offers not only theoretical coherence but also practical value in clinical settings, where unconscious processes manifest as symptoms, biases, or somatic expressions. The unconscious is no longer merely a hidden domain - it is central to mental functioning and human experience.

Keywords

unconscious; consciousness; psychoanalysis; hypnosis; cognitive science; neuroscience; repression

Hrčak ID:

344089

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/344089

Publication date:

20.9.2025.

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