Prom the Unconscious to the Conscious 



subconscious; it is by M. Ribot. 1 M. Ribot finds it 

 quite simple: there is no unconscious Self. 



' This term and the concept which it implies, 

 are an abuse of language, and inadmissible. The 

 Self, the person, is a whole, composed of constantly 

 varying elements, which in their perpetual " becom- 

 ing " preserve a certain unity. But nothing similar 

 is found in this imaginary Self, no principle of unity, 

 but on the contrary a tendency to disperse and to go 

 to pieces. . . . 



' To sum up, this supposed Self is a fraction, 

 made up of motor elements and mechanisms. When 

 it becomes active, it is an orchestra without a con- 

 ductor. 



* Unconscious function does not differ from 

 conscious activity except by the want of order and 

 unity. Its structure is made up of " psychic 

 residues," that is to say, of " isolated or associated 

 elements which were once states of consciousness 

 ... it is extinct consciousness, frozen and crystal- 

 lised as to its motor elements.' 



Nevertheless, M. Ribot admits there is in the 

 unconscious ' some impenetrable basal matter.' 



' This fact however it may be explained that 

 there is in us a buried life which appears only by 

 glimpses and never in its entirety, is far-reaching; 

 the fact is that this self-knowledge (yv&ei <reawV) 

 is not merely difficult, but impossible. We must 

 recognise our " absolute incapacity to know with 

 any certainty our own individuality in its entirety." 



In fine, according to M. Ribot, the conscious Self is 

 a co-ordination of states; and the unconscious Self is 



1 Ribot : La Vie Inconsciente et les Mouvements. 

 IIQ 



