Psychoanalysis and Neuroscience Symposium Speakers: Charles P. Fisher, Mark Solms Dr. Solms presents a compelling thesis that “turns the talking cure on its head” while preserving Freud’s fundamental discoveries. Freud saw the ego as the seat of consciousness and the id as deeply unconscious. However modern neuroscience suggests that consciousness is generated in primitive brain structures that mediate instinctual drives, while the higher structures that represent the external world are unconscious in themselves. Is the id conscious and the ego unconscious? This revision would resolve certain difficulties with Freud’s original formulations, while reinforcing the clinical utility of his basic concepts. The group discusses how this revised model clarifies clinical work. |