The Power of the Unconscious

The main theme in almost all of Freud's work and certainly here is the power of the unconscious mind. The unconscious is the part of the mind that operates behind the scenes; that is, unbeknown to the conscious mind. Our conscious minds involve the thoughts and memories that are available to us under normal circumstances. This is the part of the mind that we are using most of the day. Freud's insight was to suggest that in addition to this part of the mind, there is also another part of the mind that is not always apparent to us, but that has immense power over our lives. The image of this structure of the mind is often compared to an iceberg, where the conscious mind is merely the tip of the iceberg that is above water, whereas the most powerful and dangerous part of...