Thinking the Unconscious: Nineteenth-Century German Thought

Since Freud's earliest psychoanalytic theorization around the beginning of the twentieth century, the concept of the unconscious has exerted an enormous influence upon psychoanalysis and psychology, and literary, critical and social theory. Yet, prior to Freud, the concept of the unconscious already possessed a complex genealogy in nineteenth-century German philosophy and literature, beginning with the aftermath of Kant's critical philosophy and the origins of German idealism, and extending into the discourses of romanticism and beyond. Despite the many key thinkers who contributed to the Germanic discourses on the unconscious, the English-speaking world remains comparatively unaware of this heritage and its influence upon the origins of psychoanalysis. Bringing together a collection of experts in the fields of German Studies, Continental Philosophy, the History and Philosophy of Science, and the History of Psychoanalysis, this volume examines the various theorizations, representations, and transformations undergone by the concept of the unconscious in nineteenth-century German thought.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: thinking the unconscious Angus Nicholls and Martin Liebscher; 1. The unconscious from the Storm and Stress to Weimar classicism: the dialectic of time and pleasure Paul Bishop; 2. The philosophical significance of Schelling's conception of the unconscious Andrew Bowie; 3. The scientific unconscious: Goethe's post-Kantian epistemology Angus Nicholls; 4. The hidden agent of the self: towards an aesthetic theory of the non-conscious in German romanticism Rüdiger Görner; 5. The real essence of human beings: Schopenhauer and the unconscious will Christopher Janaway; 6. Carl Gustav Carus and the science of the unconscious Matthew Bell; 7. Eduard von Hartmann's Philosophy of the Unconscious Sebastian Gardner; 8. Gustav Theodor Fechner and the unconscious Michael Heidelberger; 9. Friedrich Nietzsche's perspectives on the unconscious Martin Liebscher; 10. Freud and nineteenth-century philosophical sources on the unconscious Günter Gödde; Epilogue: the 'optional' unconscious Sonu Shamdasani.

Review :
Review of the hardback: 'From 'Discovering' to 'Thinking the Unconscious': this book offers an enlightening contribution to this still demanding and paradoxical task.' Ludger Lütkehaus, University of Freiburg Review of the hardback: 'While the conceit that Freud discovered – or invented – the unconscious, has long been dispatched, this collection explores in fascinating detail the tangled roots of the concept in the works of Leibniz and Kant and traces its surprising ramifications through the thought of the German Romantics and their successors. The authors reveal how the early constructions of the unconscious differ from that of Freud and brilliantly trouble complainant attitudes about figures (e.g., Goethe, Nietzsche) around whom the dust of opinion has long settled.' Robert J. Richards, University of Chicago and author of The Romantic Conception of Life: Science and Philosophy in the Age of Goethe Review of the hardback: 'Focusing on the crucible of German intellectual history in the long nineteenth century, this volume assembles expert accounts of how the concept, or complex, of the unconscious was thought and wrought before Freud. Significant new readings of canonical figures from Goethe to Nietzsche are complemented by judicious assessments of less familiar thinkers who helped shape this key term for modernity. Across the genealogical networks of philosophy, psychology, and literature, the vicissitudes of thinking the unconscious are explored with impressive erudition and an apt sense of the elusive and contested character of the subject.' Andrew Webber, University of Cambridge Review of the hardback: '[This] is a dependable guide to particular historical examples of thinking about the unconscious in their respective contexts: that is its considerable virtue.' David Midgley, Modern Language Review