Psychoanalysis pretends to investigate the Unconscious. The Unconscious by definition is what you are not conscious of. But the Analysts already know what's in it. They should, because they put it all in beforehand. It's like an Easter Egg hunt.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Psychoanalysis claims to explore the unconscious but fills it with its own pre-existing theories. It is a search for what was planted there beforehand.
- In plain terms
- Psychoanalysts pretend to discover your unconscious mind but they put ideas there first.
- What can you take from it?
- Question psychological theories that claim to uncover deep truths.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How much of therapy is discovery vs suggestion?
- What does the unconscious actually contain?
Another view
Modern psychology has moved beyond some of these early criticisms.
More from Saul Bellow
There are evils, as someone has pointed out, that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever - money, for instance, or war.
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Permalink to quote #18 A great deal of intelligence can be invested in ignorance when the need for illusion is deep.
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