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= D.: das Unbewusste; unbewusste.–Es.: inconsciente.–Fr.: inconscient.–I.: inconscio.–P.: inconsciente.
I. The adjective ‘’ is at times used to connote all those contents that are not present in the field of consciousness at a given moment; this is a ‘descriptive’, not a ‘’, sense of the word, for no distinction is being made here between the respective contents of the preconscious and unconscious systems.
II. In its ‘’ sense, the term ‘’ describes one of the systems defined by Freud in the context of his first theory of the psychical apparatus: this system comprises the repressed contents which have been denied access to the preconscious-conscious* system by the operation of * (* plus repression proper or ‘after-’).
The essential characteristics of the unconscious as a system (Ucs.) may be enumerated as follows:
a. Its ‘contents’ are ‘representatives’* of the instincts.
b. These contents are governed by the mechanisms specific to the primary process, especially by * and *.
c. Strongly cathected by instinctual energy, they seek to re-enter consciousness and resume activity (the *), but they can only gain access to the system Pcs.-Cs. in * after having undergone the distortions of the *.
d. It is more especially childhood wishes that become fixated* in the unconscious.
The abbreviation Ucs. (German Ubw. for Unbewusst) designates the unconscious in its substantival form as a system; ucs. (ubw.) is the shortened form of the adjectival ‘’ (unbewusst) wherever it is applied in the strict sense to qualify the contents of this system.
III. Within the framework of the second Freudian topography the term ‘’ is used above all in its adjectival form; indeed, no single agency can now hold a monopoly on its application, since not only the id but also parts of the ego and super-ego are described as unconscious. But it should be noted: