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The truth of the matter is that what we call the unconscious is really unconscious to us but is itself never unconscious of us [J. Grotstein].
There is no doubt that all psychic processes have a somatic substrate. Starting from that viewpoint, I would like to investigate a psychoanalytic concept of unconscious perception in regard to its compatibility with neuroscientific models of psychic functioning. I will do so in order to scrutinize in which way a well-established psychoanalytic term could be looked at from a neuroscientific point of view.1
The term in question is “projective identification” (PI). It has become a well defined term in psychoanalysis since it was first introduced by Melanie Klein in 1946. For the non-psychoanalytic reader its content will be described briefly in the following sections of this paper. The reason I chose this term for trying to bridge a gap between psychoanalysis and the neurosciences is because it deals with perception. Cognitive science primarily explores the way the brain handles information processing. Although it covers attempts to provide models of unconscious processes, it nevertheless lacks theories and/or descriptions of how unconscious information gathering takes place in intersubjective encounters. As psychoanalytic concepts deal with exactly these processes, a combination of both models might give further insight. What I want to address here is the interdependence of two sciences that have in focus the most precious development of evolution: the human mind. In so far it is reasonable that the two should exchange their findings.
PI represents a model of an intersubjective exchange via unconscious pathways. While psychoanalysis is well aware of the ongoing subjective processes during this exchange, there is no scientifically based model of how this exchange may take place. Therefore, it remains a somewhat mystic phenomenon, often referred to as a “telepathic” encounter. Nevertheless, it is a well established and u