What are the objections to the notion of the unconscious?

Question

What is your understanding of the unconscious and is projection part of it?

Who coined 'projection'?

Answer 1

The unconscious, as proposed by Freud is the part of an individual's mental functioning which does not come into the individual's awareness. Think of someone who is knocked "unconscious" through a hit on the head. They become unaware of the external world. Freud believed that, at a psychological level, people have a repository of thoughts, desires, and feelings which are normally kept from conscious awareness. (Not through a hit on the head, of course. Just through the normal human psyche.) However, these thoughts, desires, and feelings still influenced a person's behaviour and their conscious thinking and feeling.

The main objection to the theory is that it is not available to scientific investigation. You cannot prove the existence or non-existence of the unconscious. The behaviourist movement which came after Freud emphasized the observable - things that could be tested experimentally and ignored the "black box" - that which could not be observed and manipulated.

As far as projection, this is also a Freudian concept. Projection is a defense mechanism in which unwanted or unacceptable thoughts and desires in the unconscious are projected onto others. Because this defense mechanism occurs at an unconscious level, the individual is not aware that it is happening. A good example might be a religious man who, at an unconscious level, lusts after women other than his wife. These unacceptable feelings are kept an the unconscious level and projected on to others. The man constantly sees other men as adulterers and cheaters.

Hope that helps.