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NOTES, COMMENTS, AND ABSTRACTSSOME COMMENTS ON THE

CONSCIOUS MIND.*

BY ALEX. W. HENDRY, M.D. ABERD., M.R.C.P. LOND.,ASSISTANT PHYSICIAN, ABERDEEN ROYAL INFIRMARY.

IT is perhaps permissible to doubt the wisdom ofsome prevalent tendencies in psychology. Previouslymetaphysicians considered consciousness a funda-mental condition of all intelligence, and an invariablecomponent of mental action. Present day psycho-logists would have us believe that most of our mentallife is lived in the subconscious. If this be true, ifsuch a state of affairs really exists, then it bodes illfor enlightened endeavour and progressive humanadvancement.The subconscious mind has been enthusiastically

studied-studied with an intensity which hasdestroyed the perspective and disturbed the generalview of the mental field. It has become but asynonym for the devils and demons of the dark ages.The subconscious is charged with the harbouring ofcomplexes which bring about serious mental discordand ill-health. These complexes may cause paralysis,anaesthesias, obsessions, amnesias, phobias, fits, andfugues. They chase happiness away, and bringuntold misery and sadness to whomsoever maypossess them. It would appear to be the teachingof the present, that the door to mental harmonylies in the subconscious mind. Have we no key tothat door ? Can we consciously and deliberatelyunlock the door ? Or has the subconscious locked itagainst us ?An extensor plantar reflex occurs in, but is not

due to a lesion of, the lower motor neurone. It isdue to a loss of pyramidal influence. So thevagaries of neurotics are not due to any essentialabnormality of the subconscious, but are phenomenaassociated with lack of higher control. In neuroticcases there is default in conscious mental processes.The unwelcome matter is sidetracked. It never

really comes before the highest consciousness, andtherefore, its associations are confined to subconsciousrealms. The " complex " is the result of default,and this default must necessarily be the essentialfactor in the production of neurotic states. In normalpeople the default is subject to correction by directiveconsciousness. The process of repression may beunwitting, but not, it is submitted, outside consciouscontrol. Failure to face unpleasant facts is a weak-ness of the conscious mind. Normal people mustface unacceptable affects, because if such are notconsciously faced then repression definitely occurs.

It is noteworthy that Freudians find in all neuroticstates evidence of repressed sexuality. These findingsare not very convincing. It would be difficult toattribute war neurosis or railway spine to sexualcomplexes. Human beings have many interests, andwhile it is true that in psychopathic states of civillife, repressed sexuality is a very important factor,nevertheless, there are other affective states which,if incompletely mentalised, result in neurosis. Sexualcomplexes have nothing whatsoever to do with agreat many cases. Another point is doubtful-Freudians trace complexes back to infantile life.These infantile complexes revealed by psycho-analysis are not in themselves causatively connectedwith adult neurosis except by regression. In casesof recent origin there has been either a mentaldeterioration or a new situation which cannot beadequately faced. Where no mental deteriorationhas occurred some present maladaptation exists-alack of directive conscious ability for appropriatereaction. The infantile complex in these cases is

I*Substance of lecture delivered before the Aberdeen Uni-

versity Medical Society on Nov. 13th, 1931.

but a regression, a revitalisation by transference ofaffect. Many psychopathic states traced to infantilesexual repression are due, not to these infantilecomplexes, but to a present maladaptation.Some people there are who spend the major part of

waking life in the subconscious. They are awakeand yet they sleep. Their actions result fromprimitive impulses which are not understood, not

, judged, and not inhibited. Their actions are thusnot moulded by the highest critical mental faculties.Perhaps most people are somehow partially cognisant

.

of the true and real reasons for their actions, but fewindeed are fully aware of the nature of their impulses,

their source or their reason. Few people subjectthese impulses to the full scrutiny of their criticalfaculties, so that their final actions may be fullyconscious, deliberate, and defined. Such people knowthemselves. The fuller the consciousness of dailylife, the greater the degree of culture, the higherthe grade of civilisation. As yet the integration ofprimitive and highest mental faculties is incomplete.Minds are not fully developed. Man himself mustconsciously and deliberately accomplish this. He mustexpand his realism to include his subconscious, onlythus is the fullest consciousness possible. Further,mental evolution is likely, but this evolution mustbe deliberate, directive, and conscious. Man mustevolve his own mind.The division between the conscious and sub-

conscious has been termed a " psychic filter." It ismore like a barrier-a movable barrier which recedesas the conscious realm is enlarged. We must penetratethe dark areas, we must switch the mental flood-light from our environment right about into the darkrecesses of our minds, and this is possible and is called"introspection." It is not for a moment suggestedthat children and juveniles are capable of intro-spection. It is, however, strongly urged that thenormal adult would benefit greatly from observationof the inner mental self. The springs of energyshould be examined and studied ; then only couldpower be conserved and controlled. Impure springscould be cleansed, wandering streams collected andmade to swell the volume of vital energy. Too oftenis man at the mercy of an all-devouring, harmfulmental torrent. This harmful energy can only beharnessed for useful work if pure springs and strayingstreams are guided into peaceful channels filled withuseful energy and quiet harmony. Evolution hasbrought man to a state of sentiency, and furtherprogress depends on the use of this function. He must,if he would further improve, examine carefully andthoughtfully the mental springs, and he mustconsciously and deliberately direct their route. Moreconsciousness is required, indeed a superconscious-ness is requisite, and this is what we must strive toacquire.

Introspection will bring knowledge and knowledgewill bring power, so that in the end man may be ableto say truly, " I am the Captain of my Soul, theMaster of my Fate." Cultivate then this all-pervadingall-knowing consciousness. Know thou thyself.Let no mental ripple escape your consciousness,then you need never fear the subconscious and itsterrors.

CONTROL OF MALARIA.AT a recent meeting of the industrial antimalarial

advisory committee of the Ross Institute, the forma-tion of an Assam branch was reported, and Dr. G. C.Ramsay gave an account of the work that was beingdone to prevent malaria on tea estates in’Assam andBengal. A fifth research centre was, he said, beingopened during the year. It was also announced thatDr. Ramsay had completed researches into the bestoils for antimalarial mixtures and was now in touchwith the Burma Shell Group with a view to makinga standard efficient mixture available at all the oil