Inconscients et Mémoires : considérations sur les recherches en neurosciences et l’approche freudienne de ces notions

Abstract

The word of “memory” is such a complex and rich concept. But behind this simple word, a lot of different memories have been divided during last decades. Different models have been established like the Tulving's model or the Squire's model but there are still lot of researches about different kind of memories. It's such a specific domain that there are many studies about specific memories like declarative memory with the semantic memory and the episodic memory, or non-declarative memory which includes procedural memory, priming and perceptual learning or non-associative learning. Each specific memory is a wonderful and limitless perspective of researches and new discoveries. But we must add to these distinctions between all this kind of memories, the difference between a conscious or an unconscious treatment of the information stocked in memories. Due to the studies of these phenomenons, we are about to go further in comprehension of memory's working. With neurosciences and cognitive psychology, we can use the concept of “cognitive unconscious” and, with Freud and his conception of memory, we can still summon this other unconscious that we have to define as “Freudian”. Because this is a real issue to understand how the unconscious and obviously memory have an influence on conscious life. Like Freud said, many acts, many choices, even many sentences when we speak consciously, have a curious origin. What we are interested in is the understanding of the relation between elements stored in memories, such as episodic memory, semantic memory, or autobiographical memory, and the specific moment of awareness. Then we must include processes like sorting, weighting and selecting information. At last, we must add the fundamental question in Freudian theory: the influence of unconscious mental life on our acts and our conscious thoughts. Thus armed, we can study the singularity of the conscious answer, its specificity and the multiple influences that participated in its emergence. Memories, especially because they are based on a partially unconscious mode, are precious to understand the cognitive as well as subjective mechanisms that lead to consciousness. They allow to study brain's mechanisms, but also to ask the question of the causality of conscious mental life. Then, we can go further in these reflections on memory studying how from neural functions to elaborate and conscious metacognitive work, subjectivity emerge in every human being. Because through the different memories, the Freudian unconscious and consciousness we can try to understand how the accumulation of elements lead to an original and singular answer that would be the possible signature of subjectivity in human kind.