What Is The Subconscious Mind?

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You are listening to Search the Scriptures Daily, a radio ministry of The Berean Call. Still ahead, Dave and Tom continue their weekly in-depth study of the Doctrine of Salvation, please stay with us.

CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH

In this regular feature Dave and Tom respond to questions from listeners and readers of The Berean Call. Here’s this week’s question: Dear Dave and TA, Will you please answer the following questions: Is it scientifically true that our minds comprise two parts, the conscious and the subconscious, or unconscious mind? Is it true that the subconscious mind is the one that regulates most of our actions and, Is it true that the subconscious is also in charge of our learned behavior?

Tom:

Dave, this must have come from somebody who’s been following our series on psychology. And certainly, we are conscious, and certainly, there’s a time when I’m sleeping, and so on, I mean, things that go on that I’m not thinking about that somehow may be contained within my mind. Maybe the brain has some aspect or some control over that. But what this person is laying out here, they want to know if Freud was right, are we, our actions in life predetermined, or determined by some event prior to the time that’s being played out?

Dave:

Well Tom, they don’t even know what the mind is, first of all. What is the mind? Well, it’s not physical, it’s not the brain. That was amazing because Freud was a materialist.

Tom:

He was a medical doctor.

Dave:

No, so where does this mind come in, what part of the brain is the mind? Now we know today, at least neurologists, neurosurgeons and so forth, would tell you that the brain is like a computer programmed by something not connected to itself, I mean, not part of itself, which we call the mind. The mind is non physical, the brain is physical. So now the mind—well, talk about not having a mind of your own— we’re back to Agnes Sanford now getting in touch with the super mind, or something. I don’t know why I do things. It’s true that habits or experiences from the past or your brain has been thinking of something. I can head for the refrigerator—

Tom:

Now Dave, did your brain think?

Dave:

No it doesn’t, but you’ve been thinking of something, thank you. I can head for the refrigerator, and then when I get there I don’t remember what I went there to get. Now of course—I wouldn’t say that I am old, but I could be getting there. You could say, Well, where do the dreams come from? “For a dream cometh through the multitude of business” this is what Solomon said, (Ecclesiastes:5:3For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.). In other words, your brain is like a computer playing back experiences that you’ve had, I mean, it’s amazing, people you’ve seen and so forth. But the unconscious mind is it really in charge? And is that why we do the things that we do? Well, I don’t think so, unless the unconscious mind is slipping it in there on me and I don’t even know. I don’t think the unconscious mind runs the show. Now, has it been all predetermined? Then I’m just a stimulus response mechanism. So my mind has become a mechanism. So you can program me, Tom, like make me salivate like Pavlov’s dog, or B. F. Skinner’s rats and pigeons or whatever. I think man is more than that, and Freud overdid the unconscious.

Tom:

Dave, I think, you know, many of these ideas that come out of psychology, we talked about the mind sciences earlier, some of them have an element of truth. For example, what is that connection between the mind, the non physical part of our makeup, and the physical part? Well, there’s a psycho-kinesis there, there is a connection there, and that’s—

Dave:

That is, your mind when you are conscious.

Tom:

Right, but just because my mind has an effect on my body doesn’t mean I can move furniture around the room with my mind through psycho-kinesis. The whole idea of thinking positive thoughts and so on, that has an element of truth as opposed to being dour, just having an unhappy spirit, just a person you don’t want to be around. So there are elements of truth in this, but all of a sudden we see psychology, we see the mind sciences and so on, taking these things over as to we’re controlling the universe, let alone our own bodies.

Dave:

Now let’s specifically deal with these questions again, Tom. What’s the first question?

Tom:

Okay. Is it scientifically true that our minds are comprised of two parts, the conscious and the subconscious or unconscious.

Dave:

No, it’s not scientifically true, and I can quote Nobel prize winners who say, We don’t even know what consciousness is. Consciousness is not scientific because science can only deal with material matter, and the mind is non-material. Okay, so you cannot have a science of mind, number one.

Tom:

So is it true that the subconscious mind is the one that regulates most of our actions?

Dave:

Tom, if you mean that I’m not conscious of what my actions are going to be until my subconscious causes me to do them, I don’t think that’s true. You don’t work math problems that way, you don’t make decisions to decide to get married—

Tom:

You make conscious choices throughout your life.

Dave:

Absolutely. Now, there may be some elements of experience in there that are influencing you, your thinking, but it’s not what they are making it up to be.

Tom:

And finally, Is it true that the subconscious is also in charge of our learned behavior? In other words, am I the product of things that are going on below my conscious thinking? Some people would say, Well, Tom, you’re in a fog most of the time. But aside from that, Dave, what do you think?

Dave:

Well, number one, it’s not scientific, and they try to make science out of psychology, as we have mentioned in the past, and you cannot do it. Number two, when you’re talking about mind, talking about something non physical which science cannot deal with, it can’t even explain it, now to jump from there then, and to say that it’s really my unconscious mind that is behind all of my behavior, and I’m learning through my subconscious to act in certain ways—- It simply is not scientific, it’s not proven, and it’s contrary to experience. I certainly think I make some choices.

Tom:

Well Dave, so we’re recommending that people don’t go out and buy those tapes that they listen to as they sleep to condition their subconscious to change their lives.

Dave:

Tom, let me quote, as we close, Proverbs:4:7Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.: “Wisdom is the principal thing; (doesn’t sound like the unconscious mind) therefore get wisdom; and with all thy getting get understanding.” And that’s not going to come to you unconsciously.