Unconscious Processes

Abstract

Consciousness has to do with two aspects of mental life: monitoring ourselves, our phenomenal awareness of our experiences, thoughts, and actions; and controlling ourselves, engaging in voluntary behavior that goes beyond reflex, instinct, and conditioned response. The unconscious mind—whether it exists at all, and if so what its scope and limits are—has been an important theoretical issue since the beginning of scientific psychology. There are of course many physical and biological processes that, in some sense, proceed unconsciously: the orbiting of planets around the sun and photosynthesis are two examples. Changes in blood pressure are not accessible to phenomenal awareness; and the brain activity which gives rise to consciousness itself goes on unconsciously (neurosurgeons assure us that there is no afference in the brain). But there is little point in talking about something being unconscious if that same thing cannot also be conscious, in the sense of being accessible to phenomenal awareness and voluntary control. Therefore, the adjective unconscious only makes sense when applied to mental states and mental activity, as an adjectival contrast to conscious. Mental states come in various forms—namely cognition (percepts, memories, thoughts, and knowledge acquired through learning), emotion (positive and negative feelings), and motivation (desires and goals of approach and avoidance). Usually, these mental states are accessible to consciousness, in that people are generally aware of what they are thinking, what they want and feel. “The unconscious” is shorthand for mental states and processes that are inaccessible to introspective phenomenal awareness and voluntary control. The question is whether, and to what extent, mental states can exist (and mental activities transpire) outside the scope of phenomenal awareness and voluntary control. Objection: If these mental states and activities are unconscious, how are we to know them? Answer: We know them indirectly by virtue of their effects on our ongoing conscious experience, thought, and action. Question: If there are two kinds of mental states and processes, conscious and unconscious, how do they compare and contrast? Answer: In principle, unconscious processes differ from conscious processes because they operate outside phenomenal awareness. And because conscious awareness is the logical prerequisite for conscious control; unconscious processes are not susceptible to voluntary self-regulation. Other differences between conscious and unconscious processes are empirical questions. This revision adds items that appeared through 2022.