The normal subconscious according to Edward Abramowski (1868–1918).

What is it about?

This article explores the life and work of an exceptionally colorful figure, a Polish psychologist who worked in Europe at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, experimentally studying the subconscious, memory, and mystical and aesthetic experience. He achieved all this while a citizen of a non-existent country under the rule of partitioning powers (Austria, Germany, Russia), wanted by the Tsarist police, suffering from tuberculosis and a morphine addiction.

Featured Image

Photo by Wiki Sinaloa on Unsplash

Photo by Wiki Sinaloa on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The discovery and study of the unconscious is one of the foundations of modern psychology. After years of skepticism and denial, it is now widely believed that the unconscious is important and central to our functioning. Most people, including experts, believe that Sigmund Freud discovered the unconscious. However, the truth is that in the second half of the 19th century, knowledge of the existence of the unconscious was widespread among psychologists, psychiatrists, and philosophers in many countries (France, Germany, England). The fundamental drawback was that it was considered necessarily linked to pathology and mental disorders. Abramowski's contribution to the understanding of the hidden mind was original at that time because, unlike his contemporaries, he saw the unconscious as a normal phenomenon that beneficially affects our everyday life.