Conscious and unconscious
The mind is divided into the unconscious and the conscious. Freud's work focused on bringing thoughts from the unconscious to the conscious.
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The Argument
The goal of Freudian therapy, or psychoanalysis, was to bring to consciousness repressed thoughts and feelings.[1] He believed he could do this by encouraging people to talk in free association and about their dreams. The relative lack of the therapist’s direct involvement is meant to encourage the patient to project thoughts and feelings onto the analyst and through the process of transference, they can reenact and resolve repressed conflicts, especially childhood conflicts with (or about) parents. Freud believed that the mind is responsible for both conscious and unconscious decisions that it makes on the basis of psychic drives.It has often been claimed that the most significant contribution Freud made to Western thought was his argument for the existence of an unconscious mind.[2]
Counter arguments
Premises
[P1] Freud argued for the existence of an unconscious mind.
[P2] Freud believed the unconscious could be unlocked through people's dreams.
Rejecting the premises
Further Reading
Encyclopeadia of Gender and Society, Volume 1 Jodi O'Brien SAGE, 2009