Consciousness and psychoanalysis

Mark Solms

Psychoanalytic models of the mind fell out of favour in the second half of the 20th century for many reasons.  Although some of these reasons were valid, one was not, namely that many of Freud’s most vociferous critics totally misunderstood the fundamentals of his theory.  With renewed interest in traditional subject matters of psychoanalysis - such as consciousness, implicit processing, the self, free will, etc. – this misunderstanding needs to be redressed.  This tutorial will outline relevant aspects of the Freudian viewpoint in language that will be comprehensible to contemporary cognitive scientists.  The purpose of the tutorial is therefore primarily educational.  However, in the process attention will also be drawn to novelties of the Freudian viewpoint which may prove unexpectedly useful in relation to current topics of scientific interest.

Prof. Mark Solms is a psychoanalyst and neuropsychologist.  He is the authorised translator and editor of Freud’s Complete Works (the forthcoming complete neuroscientific and psychological works in 28 vols).  He is best known for his research into the forebrain mechanisms of dreaming, and his attempts to integrate psychoanalytic methods and concepts with contemporary neuroscience.