Ideas In Psychoanalysis: The Unconscious

'Ideas In Psychoanalysis' is a series of essays which explain psychoanalytical concepts, their relevance to everyday life and their ability to illuminate the nature of human society and culture.

Phil Mollon explains that while we may have illusions of autonomy and conscious awareness of our motivations, psychoanalysis reveals that we are often "lived by" the unconscious which dwells within, largely hidden during daylight, but revealing its controlling influence within the dramas of sleep. Immensely creative yet powerfully destructive, the unconscious can be a source of guidance as well as subversion, evoking both awe and dread.