Man's unconscious conflict -Wilfrid Lay- PDF ebook

Man's unconscious conflict

 

In Greek mythology, the Titans are the children of Earth and Heaven and because they warred with the gods, were cast into the gulf of Tartarus, where they lie prostrate, but occasionally, becoming restive, shake their bonds and in so doing cause the earth to tremble. 

In each one of us, there lives a Titan. As the Titans represented the crude forces of nature that were later brought into subjection by the gods who introduced a reign of order, so the Titan that is in each one of us represents the primal impulses of animal life which have through the ages been brought into some semblance of order by the force of society. But just as the Titans in the old mythology made themselves felt in disturbances of the equilibrium of the world, so some- times do the Titans residing in us all break loose and do much damage in our daily life.

 And as the Titans were chained in the deep pit, and could never show their faces to the light of day, so these primordial vital forces are generally controlled by the restraints of organized society, and are as little in evidence to most people as if they too were chained at the bottom of a pit. 

Their writings, however, are not without effect on our daily thoughts and on our bodily functions, as will be seen in the chapters that follow. That part of our mental life of which as a general rule we know nothing, but which exerts a great influence upon our actions, is known to the newer psychology as the Unconscious, and in this book, 

I frequently refer to it as the unknown Titan. It is well to be informed of this archaic being which constitutes so great a part of our ego, for if rightly understood it will enable us to develop all the power that we have, up to the limit of our possibility, while, on the other hand, ignorance of its very existence and of its effect on human conduct has been the cause of much misunderstanding and sorrow.

Some contents of the book

I. INTRODUCTION

II. THE UNKNOWN ELEMENT IN ACTION 14
III. THE OEDIPUS MYTH 18

IV. THE FORE-CONSCIOUS

V. THE UNCONSCIOUS. (DESCRIPTIVE)

A. Complete Retentiveness

B. Repression.

C. Independent Vitality

D. Symbolism .

E. The Censor

F. Sublimation

G. Introversion
H. Pleasure-Pain versus Reality

I. Regression

J. Universality of Manifestation

VI. THE UNCONSCIOUS (DYNAMIC)

A. Craving or Reality?

B. Where Do Thoughts Come From?

C. Resistances

D. Conflicts

E. Complexes

F. Phobias

Publication date: 1917

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