Our unconscious is the biggest mystery in science. We are made up of billions of molecules that neither think nor feel, yet they combine to form a personality, a subjective experience. The unconscious is equally enigmatic, and we simply don’t know what goes on there. Not even the people who should know: the psychologists and neuroscientists.
How do unconscious impressions, desires and information determine our thoughts, feelings and actions? Here’s the good news: Nietzsche and Freud were wrong. We are the lords of the manor, even if we’re not sure who’s creeping around in the house’s basement.The bad news is that we often overestimate our influence and convince ourselves that we had good reasons for acting the way we did.
The philosopher Philipp Hubl debunks many myths about the power of the unconscious, and shows how reason and focussed attentiveness can protect us from being manipulated. A foundational yet provocative work.
