Thinking of the Unconscious, and the Infinite, of Society during Dark Times

The question I wish to address is this: how can we continue to create and further the conditions for ordinary people to think and reflect about their society?

I aim to do this by, first, exploring thinking activities through outlining four postulated modes of thinking. This is not a definitive statement. Second, by examining the interaction between the ideal of democratic thinking held in the mind, and the thinking that totalitarianism, ‘inverted’ totalitarianism, terrorism and genocide generate. The latter three are being experienced increasingly in contemporary life. They are shaping the thinking of ordinary people as they witness the corporate media. Third, by looking at two existing uses of psychoanalysis as tools of enquiry, Listening Posts and Social Dreaming, which are directed at discerning what is taking place in society, both consciously and unconsciously. Fourth, and finally, by inviting you to join me in inventing an event that will make use of what thinking has been generated by both Listening Posts and Social Dreaming.

Thinking is what we do every moment of our lives, both consciously and unconsciously. We think of the state of our Being, as individuals in our particular eco-niche of the society we belong to. As we are thinking about our Being, we are brooding, often unconsciously, on what we might Become. We are imagining and planning what we might do to change our situation of Being. The future is never far from our conscious thinking. We oscillate between the two in our conscious minds, but not exclusively.

There are two other thinking activities, which belong to the unconscious. These are, first, substantiated through thinking the Unthought