Unconsciousness

Unconsciousness (Korean: 무의식, German: Unbewusstes) or 'nonconscious' refers to a state where there is no awareness of oneself and the surrounding environment, indicating unawakened mental states where brain activities occur without conscious thought processes, memories, motives, and the like.

This concept was popularized by Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis.

 

In psychoanalytic theory, unconscious processes are understood to manifest directly through dreams or jokes. In psychoanalysis or analytical psychology pioneered by Carl Jung, the unconscious is seen as a "region of the mind" that is not conscious.

 

In non-psychoanalytic disciplines like brain neuroscience, nonconscious activity refers to mental activity that does not entirely follow conscious awareness. Researchers in cognitive science have demonstrated that people can acquire more information automatically and non-deliberately than through conscious thought alone. For example, automatic thinking illustrates these nonconscious processes.

 

In contrast, the concept of the unconscious in psychoanalytic terms is sometimes questioned. Psychoanalysts like Erich Fromm rejected Freudian unconsciousness, viewing it as ultimately an extension of consciousness. Phenomenologists such as Maurice Merleau-Ponty consider the unconscious as passive consciousness.

 

 

Nomenclature

Wilhelm Friedrich Joseph Schelling is credited with discovering the Western concept of the unconscious around the 4th century AD. The term "Unbewusste, the unconscious" simply refers to the realm of the unconscious mind, distinct from the unconscious mind and other similar concepts.

 

 

The existence of consciousness

The existence of consciousness itself presupposes an understanding of what consciousness is. Consciousness generally refers to "something self-evident that exists when I am conscious, that exists when I am conscious." In the realm of philosophy, consciousness and self were long equated.

 

Consciousness is subjectively grasped, and in the modern era, it has been difficult to define scientifically and objectively. Therefore, in psychology, the concept of the mind, such as consciousness, is considered scientifically undefined. Behaviorist psychology emerged, emphasizing stimuli, responses, and building psychology.

 

However, despite the difficulty in objectively grasping scientific targets, some schools of psychology still presuppose the existence of consciousness as something self-evident. Even if it is not scientifically proven, consciousness is treated as if it exists from the outset. Conversely, some schools of thought argue that consciousness does not exist, and this uncertainty is a phenomenon.

 

In summary, while scientific apprehension is difficult to assert as an objective grasp, the proposition "to the person conscious of consciousness, the existence of consciousness is self-evident" can also be considered a truth (subjective apprehension). The concept of consciousness, like the concept of the mind, exists and is treated from the outset by many psychologists. Few people think there is no consciousness. Therefore, even though it is not scientifically proven, consciousness is treated as something self-evident or it is being handled.