Comparing the Unconscious and Consciousness Essay

To many, the unconscious is a section of our minds that is inconceivable and almost nonexistent. Like many things in life, what we cannot explain, we cannot accept. Sigmund Freud, mastermind of the field of psychology, began to theorize and explain the concept of the unconscious and its effects on our personal lives. Carl Gustav Jung was a young colleague of Sigmund Freud who made the “exploration of this “inner space” [the unconscious] his life’s work (Boeree 1). Jung was not only knowledgeable on the Freudian theory he was also knowledgeable in mythology, religion, philosophy and “traditions such as Gnosticism, Alchemy, Kabala, and similar traditions in Hinduism and Buddhism” (Boeree 1). Jung

We all are very familiar with the very perplexing nature of this entity “consciousness”. We can tell when we are awake, when we are thinking, when we are pondering over the world, but to explain this nature of consciousness can be somewhat grueling. However as our understanding and comprehension of the brain is escalating, we are able to tackle this subject to an extent.

In October of this year, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) released a news article titled “Vegetative Patients Show Glimmers of Consciousness” (Mundasad, 2014). The article brought attention to the fact that while a patient may fit the medical description of being unconscious or in a vegetative state, research shows that some patients have brain activity similar to healthy adults, which suggest that the patients have mental awareness. The article referenced a study conducted by Chennu et al. (2014) comparing the structure and network differences between healthy adult brains to the brains of patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC).

Daniel Bor, a psychological researcher, and author, wrote an article titled “When Do We Become Truly Conscious” published on September 4, 2012 and in this article he discusses the idea of consciousness. Through use of deductive reasoning Bor refers to early opinions viewing consciousness as magic and discusses the science behind demystifying consciousness. Bor also discusses the ethical arguments behind learning for about consciousness. Bor also lists some of the emotional arguments centered on human awareness. Bor’s use of rhetorical strategies is designed to state his opinion in a simple and easily read way.

|The unconscious |All the thoughts,ideas, and feelings of which we are not and normally cannot become aware. |

Consciousness refers to an individual’s self-awareness, both internally and external stimulus which include your unique thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations and environment. Your consciousness can constantly change from one conscious to another. The constant change in consciousness can also be referred to as “stream of conscious”. Awareness- its mechanism and function has

For many years the question of whether or not the unconscious mind really exists, and if it does then what does it consist of has baffled many theorist’s minds and has made many philosophers question themselves. There have been debates on whether the conscious mind is influenced by other parts of the mind. These parts are indented within the unconscious, which has processes such as personal habits, intuition and being oblivious to certain things in life. While we are completely aware of what is happening I the conscious mind, we have absolutely no idea of what information is stored in the unconscious mind. It is believed that the unconscious mind comprises various significant and disturbing material, which is required to be kept out of awareness as they may be too menacing to completely acknowledge and be mindful of. There are been some critics that have completely disbelieved the existence of the unconscious mind. Many psychological scientists today believe that the unconscious mind is the shadow of a “real” conscious mind. However, through extensive research, evidence has been found that the unconscious is not visibly complex, controlling, or action-orientated.

The article, “Willful Modulation of Brain Activity in Disorders of Consciousness,” from the New England Journal of Medicine explains that there is a difference in being in vegetative state and being somewhat partially aware while unconscious through a clinical assessment information such as can the patient benefit from treatments and stimulation. If a patient is considered to be partially aware there can be other options for the patient which could help guide family members in a direction of which care is best for the patient. In probing into how I felt in trying the imagery tasks on my own, how the questions were asked to the study participants and patient, and the importance of the brain function will bring an understanding of brain function.

Consciousness is the state or condition of being conscious. A sense of one's personal or collective identity, especially the complex of attitudes, beliefs, and sensitivities held by or considered characteristic of an individual or a group. There are several different stages of consciousness. Waking consciousness, altered states of consciousness and sleep.

(d) If much of our behavior is unconscious, can you recognize unconscious behavior in yourself and in others?

The term consciousness refers to "your individual awareness of your unique thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations and environment” (Kendra Cherry, http://psychology.about.com). Our unconscious contains thoughts, memories, and desires that are well below the surface of awareness but that nevertheless have a great influence on behavior.

William Wundt (late 1880 's) had subjects report contents of consciousness while working, falling asleep, and sitting still.

John Watson a theorist who rejected the idea of introspection and every part of the psychodynamic theory, suggested the Behaviourist view is an

The brains electrical activity is able to be measured with an electroencephalograph (EEG). The EEG measures your brain activity or brain waves. When you are awake and alert you exhibit beta waves which are small and fast, but immediately before sleep and when you are relaxed and allowing your mind to wander you exhibit alpha waves, and during deep sleep there are large slow waves called delta waves (2). It resulted in major leap in what was known about sleeping. The first phase of modern sleep research is roughly considered to be 1928 through 1953 (1). A lot of new information about sleeping was gained during this time period.

Consciousness allows a person to recognize their existence, and subsequently, to form their essence. The