Thesis Statement
Most of our actions are governed by non-conscious parts of the brain, giving logical reasoning a very limited and ineffective authority over how we decide and what we do. The sub-conscious, or the unconscious always has a stronger control over the self, and trying to resist its authority would only lead to frustration and disillusionment. In Shakespeare’s iconic character Hamlet, this dilemma between the reasoning of the conscious and the overriding intuitive powers of the unconscious can be observed as Hamlet’s trying to make sense of every step he takes only makes him less decisive and brings him unhappiness. Research Questions
Why does Hamlet struggle so much in making decisions and taking steps? What keeps him from acting out his revenge? How does Hamlet’s unconscious affect his decision-making? …show more content…
(Vermeule 468) In Freudian psychoanalysis, “the unconscious is more like a garrulous sea captain […] tells tales and spins yarns”. (467-468) If it is repressed, “[t]he unconscious arrives over and over again with its demands”, and thusly makes itself an undeniable force driving the individual’s life. (468) Nevertheless, it is perceived by the conscious in one way or another. However, according to the most recent researches conducted in experimental psychology, the unconscious is much bigger than anybody ever thought of it before because it also involves “internal qualities of mind that affect conscious thought and behaviour, without being conscious themselves.” (quoted in Vermeule 469) The unconscious comprises all the brain activity perceived by all the senses, and out of the information gathered by our senses only a very little and insignificant part is actually reachable by the “cognitive conscious” part of the
Most of our actions are governed by non-conscious parts of the brain, giving logical reasoning a very limited and ineffective authority over how we decide and what we do. The sub-conscious, or the unconscious always has a stronger control over the self, and trying to resist its authority would only lead to frustration and disillusionment. In Shakespeare’s iconic character Hamlet, this dilemma between the reasoning of the conscious and the overriding intuitive powers of the unconscious can be observed as Hamlet’s trying to make sense of every step he takes only makes him less decisive and brings him unhappiness. Research Questions
Why does Hamlet struggle so much in making decisions and taking steps? What keeps him from acting out his revenge? How does Hamlet’s unconscious affect his decision-making? …show more content…
(Vermeule 468) In Freudian psychoanalysis, “the unconscious is more like a garrulous sea captain […] tells tales and spins yarns”. (467-468) If it is repressed, “[t]he unconscious arrives over and over again with its demands”, and thusly makes itself an undeniable force driving the individual’s life. (468) Nevertheless, it is perceived by the conscious in one way or another. However, according to the most recent researches conducted in experimental psychology, the unconscious is much bigger than anybody ever thought of it before because it also involves “internal qualities of mind that affect conscious thought and behaviour, without being conscious themselves.” (quoted in Vermeule 469) The unconscious comprises all the brain activity perceived by all the senses, and out of the information gathered by our senses only a very little and insignificant part is actually reachable by the “cognitive conscious” part of the