naccache

Why psycho-analysis is often theoretically incorrect, but still relevant for cognitive neuroscience of consciousness: the case of Freudian concept of ‘unconscious’.

Lionel Naccache

Hopital La Salpetriere, Paris, France.

In the light of current empirical evidence originating from cognitive neuroscience of both healthy subjects and various neurological and psychiatric patients, I argue that Freudian concept of unconscious is not valid from a theoretical perspective. 

However, I also defend the idea but that the posture and the methods adopted by Freud and many psychoanalysts contain precious cues to understand how consciousness works in terms of interpretative, fictionalization, inter-subjective and belief processes. 

Metaphorically, I compare Freud to Colombus, because both made a huge discovery (America / Consciousness) while mistaking about the signification of their discovery (India / Unconscious).