Freud and Philosophy of Mind, Volume 2
Do Unconscious Mental States Exist? From Descartes to the Great Freud-James Debate
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Beschreibung
“In Volume 2 of his unprecedented project on Freud and philosophy of mind, Wakefield for the first time precisely excavates Freud’s position in the history of philosophy of mind. The book meticulously and systematically reconstructs and critically assesses arguments on the question of unconscious mental states from early philosophers who initiated the debate to a brilliantly reconstructed ultimate clash across many arguments between James and Freud.”
— Morris Eagle, author of Subjective Experience and Toward a Unified Psychoanalytic Theory
Does the mind consist only of conscious experiences, or do mental states extend beyond awareness to unconscious brain states with genuine representational content? This second volume in Jerome C. Wakefield’s trilogy immerses readers in one of the most enduring debates in intellectual history—the multi-century dispute over unconscious mental states. Beginning with Descartes’ consciousness criterion and Leibniz’s divisibility argument, Wakefield reconstructs successive rounds of argument through Locke, Mill, and others, culminating in a dialectical confrontation between Freud and William James and a novel argument for the importance of dreams in the debate.
Building on Volume 1’s analysis of Freud’s conceptual and theoretical arguments, this book examines the empirical dimension: whether phenomena such as memory, unnoticed mental states, gaps in reasoning, post-hypnotic suggestion, and dreams demonstrate unconscious mentation. Wakefield situates Freud’s position within the philosophy-of-mind tradition and shows how Freud’s synthesis helped pivot psychology from Cartesianism to a representational view of mind that underpins modern cognitive science.
Combining historical depth with analytic rigor, this volume clarifies what was at stake, what was established, and what remains unresolved—namely, the missing criterion for unconscious representation. Essential reading for scholars and advanced students in philosophy of mind, psychoanalysis, and the history of psychology, it also sets the stage for Volume 3’s engagement with post-Freudian analytic philosophy.
Jerome C. Wakefield is Professor of Social Work, Associate Faculty in Philosophy and in the Center for Bioethics, School of Global Public Health, and Honorary Faculty at the Institute for Psychoanalytic Education, New York University, USA. Author of over 300 publications across psychology, philosophy, and psychiatry, his books include The Loss of Sadness (2007) and Foucault versus Freud (2025).
Does the mind consist only of conscious experiences, or do mental states extend beyond awareness to unconscious brain states with genuine representational content? This second volume in Jerome C. Wakefield’s trilogy immerses readers in one of the most enduring debates in intellectual history—the multi-century dispute over unconscious mental states. Beginning with Descartes’ consciousness criterion and Leibniz’s divisibility argument, Wakefield reconstructs successive rounds of argument through Locke, Mill, and others, culminating in a dialectical confrontation between Freud and William James and a novel argument for the importance of dreams in the debate.
Building on Volume 1’s analysis of Freud’s conceptual and theoretical arguments, this book examines the empirical dimension: whether phenomena such as memory, unnoticed mental states, gaps in reasoning, post-hypnotic suggestion, and dreams demonstrate unconscious mentation. Wakefield situates Freud’s position within the philosophy-of-mind tradition and shows how Freud’s synthesis helped pivot psychology from Cartesianism to a representational view of mind that underpins modern cognitive science.
Combining historical depth with analytic rigor, this volume clarifies what was at stake, what was established, and what remains unresolved—namely, the missing criterion for unconscious representation. Essential reading for scholars and advanced students in philosophy of mind, psychoanalysis, and the history of psychology, it also sets the stage for Volume 3’s engagement with post-Freudian analytic philosophy.
Explores the centuries-long debate on unconscious mental states from Descartes to Freud and James Clarifies Freud’s philosophical argument and its role in shaping modern cognitive science Provides analytic insight into memory, reasoning gaps and post-hypnotic suggestion as evidence for unconscious mentation
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Jerome C. Wakefield
Themen in »Freud and Philosophy of Mind, Volume 2«
Sigmund Freud William James Descartes Unconscious mental states Leibniz Brentano Philosophy of Psychology Psychoanalytic Theory Unconscious Mental States Consciousness Criterion Representational Content Intentionality Cognitive Science Post-hypnotic Suggestion Unconscious Cerebration
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“In Volume 2 of his unprecedented project on Freud and philosophy of mind, Wakefield for the first time precisely excavates Freud’s position in the history of philosophy of mind. The book meticulously and systematically reconstructs and critically assesses arguments on the question of unconscious mental states from early philosophers who initiated the debate to a brilliantly reconstructed ultimate clash across many arguments between James and Freud.” (Morris Eagle, Professor Emeritus, Derner Institute for Advanced Psychological Studies, Adelphi University, USA and Author of “Subjective Experience and Toward a Unified Psychoanalytic Theory”)
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