<p>The word <em>subconscious</em> is rarely used in scientific terminology, it is widespread in popular culture, where it is used alternately as a synonym for <em>unconscious</em> or <em>preconscious</em>.</p>

<p>Freud used to identify the dynamic unconscious with the process of removal. Today, a lot of psychologist use the term "unconscious" to refer to a wide range of processes that are not necessarily considered part of the removal (Lyons-Ruth 2004; trad.it. 2012, 56).
I think that when we talk about <strong>unconscious</strong> we should delineate what we are referring to a little more precisely. For example, we have a procedural memory which is <strong>not conscious</strong> but not "actively restrained out of the consciousness by the force of removal" (Amedei G., Cavanna D., e Zavattini G.C, 2015)</p>

<p>I recommend: 
Amedei G., Cavanna D., e Zavattini G.C, [Psicologia dinamica]: <a href="https://www.mulino.it/isbn/9788815245670" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.mulino.it/isbn/9788815245670</a> and this article about [procedural memory]: <a href="https://www.livescience.com/43595-procedural-memory.html" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.livescience.com/43595-procedural-memory.html</a></p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-06-14T12:54:31.083Z
2017-06-14T12:54:31.083Z
Fil
<p>The confusion originates from Sigmund Freud who initialized the field with his idea of the unconscious mind. Freud was of course Austrian, and used the terms <em>das Unbewusste</em> and <em>das Vorbewusste</em>. These are  most accurately translated to <em>unconscious</em> and <em><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preconscious" rel="noreferrer">preconscious</a></em>. The latter is the technical term for what you called 'subconscious'.</p>

<p>The word 'subconscious' is usually frowned upon in academic settings (because it is often unclear if it is talking about the unconscious or the preconscious). However, it is very popular in the everyday lexicon and thus creeps into scientific writing as well.</p>

<p>You can introduce further distinctions (such as <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subliminal_stimuli" rel="noreferrer">subliminal</a>) and if you want a nice and thorough modern treatment of all three terms in the context of visual processing, then I recommend:</p>

<p>Dehaenea, S., Changeux, J.-P., Naccachea, L., Sackura, J., and Sergent, C. (2006) "<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661306000799" rel="noreferrer">Conscious, preconscious, and subliminal processing: a testable taxonomy</a>" Trends in Cognitive Sciences 10(5): 204-211. (<a href="http://documents.univ-lille3.fr/files/espaces/pers/81/P5181/public/M2%20PPNSA/Attention%20cours%201/Dehaene-2006.pdf" rel="noreferrer">pdf</a>)</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-03T00:10:39.023Z
So, should we use the term 'preconscious' when we are talking about our 'subconscious' in academic and scientific settings?
cpx
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-03T00:13:30.307Z
@cpx the whole point of the vagueness of 'subconscious' in everyday use is that it is not clear what people mean when they say it. Sometimes they mean 'preconscious' and sometimes they mean 'unconscious' (and sometimes they mean something else completely). They way you used 'subconscious' in your question (and as I already explained in my answer) is more-or-less the same as the technical term 'preconscious'.
Artem Kaznatcheev
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-06-02T19:49:45.527Z
2015-10-07T07:46:32.590Z
2015-10-07T07:46:32.590Z
Artem Kaznatcheev
<p>From what I know, we use the term 'subconscious' to refer to the things that we can bring into our conscious. and, we use the term 'unconscious' for things that we can't know, they come automatically to our mind without having to think.</p>

<p>So, I was reading <a href="https://cogsci.meta.stackexchange.com/q/260/631">this</a> question on meta and it seems that we don't use the term 'subconscious' to refer to the processes that occur outside of our conscious awareness. <strong>How do we put everything together if we disregard that term?</strong></p>

<terminology><consciousness><unconscious>
Subconscious vs Unconscious
cpx
# Subconscious vs Unconscious

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-06-02)

From what I know, we use the term 'subconscious' to refer to the things that we can bring into our conscious. and, we use the term 'unconscious' for things that we can't know, they come automatically to our mind without having to think.

So, I was reading [this](https://cogsci.meta.stackexchange.com/q/260/631) question on meta and it seems that we don't use the term 'subconscious' to refer to the processes that occur outside of our conscious awareness. **How do we put everything together if we disregard that term?**

**Tags:** terminology, consciousness, unconscious


---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2012-06-02. Score: 20 | Accepted answer

The confusion originates from Sigmund Freud who initialized the field with his idea of the unconscious mind. Freud was of course Austrian, and used the terms *das Unbewusste* and *das Vorbewusste*. These are most accurately translated to *unconscious* and *[preconscious](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preconscious)*. The latter is the technical term for what you called 'subconscious'.

The word 'subconscious' is usually frowned upon in academic settings (because it is often unclear if it is talking about the unconscious or the preconscious). However, it is very popular in the everyday lexicon and thus creeps into scientific writing as well.

You can introduce further distinctions (such as [subliminal](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subliminal_stimuli)) and if you want a nice and thorough modern treatment of all three terms in the context of visual processing, then I recommend:

Dehaenea, S., Changeux, J.-P., Naccachea, L., Sackura, J., and Sergent, C. (2006) "[Conscious, preconscious, and subliminal processing: a testable taxonomy](http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661306000799)" Trends in Cognitive Sciences 10(5): 204-211. ([pdf](http://documents.univ-lille3.fr/files/espaces/pers/81/P5181/public/M2%20PPNSA/Attention%20cours%201/Dehaene-2006.pdf))

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: So, should we use the term 'preconscious' when we are talking about our 'subconscious' in academic and scientific settings?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 the whole point of the vagueness of 'subconscious' in everyday use is that it is not clear what people mean when they say it. Sometimes they mean 'preconscious' and sometimes they mean 'unconscious' (and sometimes they mean something else completely). They way you used 'subconscious' in your question (and as I already explained in my answer) is more-or-less the same as the technical term 'preconscious'.  

---

### Answer by username_1 on 2017-06-14. Score: 1

The word *subconscious* is rarely used in scientific terminology, it is widespread in popular culture, where it is used alternately as a synonym for *unconscious* or *preconscious*.

Freud used to identify the dynamic unconscious with the process of removal. Today, a lot of psychologist use the term "unconscious" to refer to a wide range of processes that are not necessarily considered part of the removal (Lyons-Ruth 2004; trad.it. 2012, 56).
I think that when we talk about **unconscious** we should delineate what we are referring to a little more precisely. For example, we have a procedural memory which is **not conscious** but not "actively restrained out of the consciousness by the force of removal" (Amedei G., Cavanna D., e Zavattini G.C, 2015)

I recommend:
Amedei G., Cavanna D., e Zavattini G.C, [Psicologia dinamica]: <https://www.mulino.it/isbn/9788815245670> and this article about [procedural memory]: <https://www.livescience.com/43595-procedural-memory.html>


---

