William James and the Unconscious: Redressing a Century-Old Misunderstanding

Abstract

Contrary to received wisdom in psychology, William James did not oppose postulating unconscious processes. This mistaken belief stems from a misreading of a passage in his Principles concerned with disproving the metaphysical notion that mental states are composed of elementary mental units. The term unconscious had been co-opted by individuals who supported this position. Unconscious did not mean then what it means now. Analysis of the rest of the Principles, his later works, and his reactions to the works of others reveals that James actually supported what we would now term unconscious processes. He even contributed to their study with his notions of the “fringe,” “habit,” and “subconscious incubation.” Causes and effects of this misunderstanding are discussed.