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This book sets out to prove that creative thinking, and indeed thinking in general, is largely determined and produced by unconscious processes. The book is divided into two parts. In Part I. the author makes a detailed survey of the processes of invention in the fields of knowledge in general, mathematics, the physical, biological and moral sciences and technical invention, with a view to finding and sorting out the factors operative in creative thinking. He concludes that every invention results from the interplay of conscious and unconscious forces. The work of creation can be divided into four stages: preparation, incubation, emergence of the new idea and verification. Interplay between conscious and unconscious occurs in all stages but as a rule consciousness is relatively prominent in preparation (preliminary study of the subject, etc.) and in verification, while incubation, which results in the emergence of the new idea, whether this takes the form of a sudden revelation, or a slower dawning, is invariably unconscious, i.e. the truly creative synthesis is the work of the Unconscious.
Part II. is concerned with the formulation of a theory of integral knowledge based on the data acquired from the survey. Integral knowledge is 'the sum of all psychic activities which combine in the great work of invention'. The unconscious is further differentiated into three grades, automatic, dynamic and æthetic. The automatic unconscious registers and stores experience. 'The preparation of the scientific invention is thus effected principally by the automatic unconscious.' The processes which go on during the period of incubation and result in the appearance of the new fundamental idea are ascribed to the dynamic unconscious. This