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Mind is partitioned into two major systems to correspond approximately to the phylogenetic “old brain” and “new brain” respectively. The old brain analog is termed the “primary system” and the new brain analog, the “secondary system.” Each of these major systems is further separated into subsystems with specialized functions and domains of operation.
The primary system is divided into three subsystems: the endogenous intraorganismic system, the exogenous transactional system, and the relational system. Together these systems mediate the selection and organization of natural experience and regulate species-specific motivational, activity and response tendencies. The secondary system is parceled into two subsystems: the logicolinguistic system and the configural system. The conftgural system mediates gestalt patterns, including significant aspects of human relations, and the logicolinguistic system, verbal and nonimagistic representations of thought and experience. The primary system is under the sway of species-specific determinants, and the secondary system is largely under the tutelage of culture, language, and
Dr. van den Daele is Professor of Psychology, California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco.
experience. The former displays maximum malleability in early life, and the latter exhibits a capacity for modification through middle adulthood.
The proposed cartography is discussed in relation to development, neurology, behavior biology, cognitive science, psychoanalysis and clinical application. The author concludes that the cartography is consistent with the clinical formulations of diverse psychoanalytic schools and integrates Freud's topographic and structural theories within a unified framework.