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Interdisciplinary with respect to psychoanalytic theory and various branches of philosophy, allowing the reader to appreciate in greater depth the puzzles that lie at the border of philosophy and psychoanalysis
Tackles a range of fascinating and puzzling phenemena, offering some possible solutions along the way
Demonstrates how an interdisciplinary approach such as this can benefit both psychoanalysis and philosophy of mind



In ´Unconscious Knowing and Other Essays in Psycho-Philosophical Analysis´, Linda Brakel tackles a range of fascinating and puzzling phenomena that lie at the border between psychoanalysis and philosophy of mind. These include - unconscious knowing, vagueness, agency, the placebo effect, and even explanation itself. Unique in its use of tools and concepts from both philosophy and psychoanalysis, the book demonstrates how this interdisciplinary approach can provide some unique solutions to some impenetrable problems.

Following the introduction, chapter two on ´unconscious knowing´ puts forward a radical epistemological view of knowledge and belief, providing evidence from psychoanalytic data and empirical research, using the subliminal method.
Chapter three considers philosophical accounts of vagueness in relation to a-rational mentation, finding surprising similarities.
In Chapter four, an original account of agency is developed whilst discovering that a central problem for analysands is quite analogous to an important philosophical problem: namely, when I am concerned with my own survival, just what is the nature of the ´me´ of concern?
In Chapter five the mysterious placebo effect is made more understandable in terms of the basic psychoanalytic concepts that are shown to underlie it.
Finally, chapter six concludes the book with an examination of explanations in general, including those in the proceeding chapters.

This is a book that will be of great interest to those within both psychoanalysis and philosophy of mind, offering up some compelling explanations for some puzzling phenomena.



Table of Contents
Part I Introduction
1: Introduction
Part II: Unconscious knowledge /epistemology, philosophy of mind
2: Unconscious knowing: psychoanalytic evidence in support of a radical epistemic view
Part III: Vagueness and a-rationality/epistemology, philosophy of mind, metaphysics
3: The limits of rationality: vagueness, a case study
Part IV: Agency/ philosophy of action
4: Agency: ´me´-ness in action
Part V: The placebo effect / psychoanalysis
5: The placebo effect: psychoanalytic theory can help explain the phenomenon
Part VI: Explanations / philosophy of science
6: Explanations and conclusions