Along all his works Freud conceives of psychical processes as derived from the activity of the brain. We offer here a reconstruction of the inferential steps (making up a logical and not a chronological sequence), made possible by this psychoneural conception, that have led (under the influence of clinical facts) to the psychoanalytical concept of the unconscious. Neurophysiological processes underlying psychical reality must possess enough complexity to justify the psychical properties known by consciousness. According to Freud, consciousness is a sort of internal perception of psychical processes. As consciousness is not inherent to these processes, it is natural to imagine that they may also occur without being perceived (preconscious processes). The concept of the unconscious properly said also appears as dependent on this psychoneural conception.
freud; metapsychology; mind-brain problem; dualism; monism; unconscious