The Unconscious and Its Narratives

Dreams often appear as remarkably coherent narratives. How does the mind organize the unconscious into the narrative forms exhibited by dreams, literary inspiration, and neuroses? Although the discovery of the unconscious is undeniably Freud’s most crucial contribution to psychology, one that forms the cornerstone of psychoanalysis, the unconscious and its narrative tendencies remain largely a mystery–despite years of investigation. We still wonder about the meaning and origin of the stories told in our sleep.

In The Unconscious and Its Narratives, Professor Zvi Giora gives insight into the narrative elements of the unconscious by applying ideas gained from recent developments in cognitive psychology. To gain an understanding of unconscious narratives, Giora carefully considers the merits and limits, as well as the major achievements and contradictions, of Freudian theory.