Synopses & Reviews
A brilliant synthesis that reevaluates, in accessible language, one of the major concepts of twentieth-century science in light of the latest experiments.In this brilliant synthesis, Frank Tallis argues that the unconscious--along with quantum physics and the gene--is one of the three big ideas of twentieth-century science. Closely associated with the psychoanalysis of Sigmund Freud, it seemed to have fallen from scientific favor midway through the last century, but now it has staged a major comeback. New research in neuroscience, psychology, artificial intelligence, and evolutionary theory has shown not only that the unconscious exists but that no account of the human mind can be complete without an understanding of this essential part of us.Hidden Minds traces the history of our fascination with the unconscious, from St. Augustine, who wrote, I cannot grasp all that I am, to contemporary scientists. Drawing widely on philosophy, literature, art, and the latest research, the author discusses the various efforts over the ages to explore, comprehend, and unlock the creative potential of the hidden mind, whether through reason, drug use, hypnotism, automatic writing, lucid dreaming, subliminal stimuli, psychological experimentation, surgical intervention, brain scans, or the talking cure. His survey offers colorful, sometimes astonishing examples, while it lays out some of the functions of unconscious processes in our daily lives. It also leads to a startling conclusion: that Freud may have been right in his assessment of the importance of the idea of the unconscious.Lucid in its explanations, comprehensive in scope, and always thought-provoking, Hidden Minds is science writing--and history--at its most exhilarating.
Synopsis
Hidden Minds traces our enduring fascination with the unconscious and our attempts to tame it through hypnosis, psychoanalysis, subliminal manipulation, lucid dreams, and even the principles of the quantum mind.
Synopsis
The concept of the unconscious has staged a comeback. New research, employing brain scans and other techniques, has shown that the unconscious is not only real but indispensable.
Hidden Minds traces our enduring fascination with the unconscious and our attempts to tame it through hypnosis, psychoanalysis, subliminal manipulation, lucid dreams, and even the principles of the quantum mind. From St. Augustine, who wrote, I cannot grasp all that I am,” to the latest contemporary research, philosophers, scientists, and thinkers have been fascinated with the concept. This absorbing history offers colorful, sometimes astonishing examples, while also laying out the functions of the unconscious process in our daily lives.
Drawing widely on scientific research, art, literature, and philosophy, Frank Tallis shows that an understanding of this hidden mind is essential to understanding our true selves.
About the Author
F. R. Tallis is a writer and clinical psychologist. Between 1999 and 2012, he has received or been nominated for numerous awards, including the New London Writers’ Award, the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger, the Elle Prix de Letrice, the Crime Writers’ Association Historical Dagger Award, and two Edgar Allen Poe Awards. His critically acclaimed Liebermann series (written as Frank Tallis) has been translated into fourteen languages and optioned for TV adaptation.