This piece makes me almost relieved I didn’t write my massive sprawling thesis about the Wonderland narrative model, which would have been singing to so many different works that the poor thing would have gone to pieces.

Still, it’s strange how different English can be, from one field to another. The physicists use one set of terms, the engineers use another (often conflicting) set, and there are other sets for biology, psychology, music, visual art… And then when laypeople talk about the subject, they use the terms everyone else thinks are right, but they either use them the wrong way, or in ways that don’t apply anymore.

It leads to some interesting arguments.

The unconscious mind and unconsciousness are two different terms with two different definitions. Over at wikipedia, “subconsciousness” redirects to the unconscious mind, for example.

The subconscious mind, OTOH, predates the unconscious mind as terminology, but was generally abandoned.

Regardless, when one talks of perceptions and understandings below the threshold of the conscious mind, in a psychological sense, one speaks of unconscious perceptions and understandings, not subconscious ones. This was the terminology I was invoking in the piece.

Unconsciousness, on the other hand, is a medical term referring to responsiveness of stimuli. Entirely different animal.

Ain’t the English language fun?

subconscious (or subconsciously) is the word we expect from a modern context, yes. In both cases, it would almost work to the same effect in the text. I prefer the words he used in this case, and here’s why.

unconscious isn’t just a word meaning “blacked out,” although that’s the most common use we see today. When Freud and Jung wrote their original essays and books on psychology, they both used the word “unconscious” to describe that which wasn’t conscious. I doubt either of them used the word “subconscious” much, if at all; that seems to be from a later time.

So when I read this story, the use of “unconscious” suggested a different time, and gave the story a vintage quality; and when we’re discussing books and modern mythology, that feeling fits perfectly.

I love that you just had to post in your blog about how annoying I am. Really, I appreciate it so much.

(Note that I’m not the one who cross-posted the ‘bove… only mentioning this because the way it’s linked might cause confusion.)

Are you suggesting, Thomas, that one who is conscious to the world needs must be conscious of everything in the world? I’m alive, awake, alert, and enthusiastic at the moment, but I’m not conscious of the color scheme in your living room, am I? I’m not conscious of what’s going on behind me. I can hear that there is music playing out in the hallway, but I am not conscious… unconscious, one might say… of exactly what the lyrics are.

I must say, I type pretty well for somebody who must have blacked out…

One of the dictionary definitions of “unconscious” is “not perceived at the level of awareness; occurring below the level of conscious thought: an unconscious impulse.” It’s not the same thing as “subconscious”… “subconscious” carries with it a different shade of meaning than “unconscious” does, when used in this sense.

Could I put that difference into words? Not easily, but I would never say one where I meant the other, and I wouldn’t assume anybody else had, either.

[/pet peeve]