--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Psychoanalysis pretends to investigate…" description: "\"Psychoanalysis pretends to investigate the Unconscious. The Unconscious by definition is what you are not conscious of. But the Analysts already know w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/saul-bellow-558_analysts_psychoanalysis-pretends-to-investigate-t_1451157.jpg" --- # Psychoanalysis pretends to investigate the Unconscious… ![“Psychoanalysis pretends to investigate the Unconscious. The Unconscious by definition is what you are not conscious of. But the Analysts already know what's in it - they should, because they put it all in beforehand.” quote by Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/saul-bellow-558_analysts_psychoanalysis-pretends-to-investigate-t_1451157.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/saul-bellow-558_analysts_psychoanalysis-pretends-to-investigate-t_1451157.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe2/saul-bellow-558_analysts_psychoanalysis-pretends-to-investigate-t_1451157.jpg) > “Psychoanalysis pretends to investigate the Unconscious. The Unconscious by definition is what you are not conscious of. But the Analysts already know what's in it - they should, because they put it all in beforehand.” [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Psychoanalysis claims to explore the unconscious, yet it may be limited by preconceptions, questioning its objectivity. **In simple terms:** Therapy may be biased. Key Takeaway Critically evaluate therapeutic assumptions. Themes psychology unconscious bias Mood skeptical inquisitive Type academic psychological When to use this quote - counseling sessions - self-reflection - academic study Key Concepts analytic theory self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - How do you differentiate insight from therapist projection? - Can you trust your own unconscious discoveries? A Different Perspective May overgeneralize therapist influence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Analysts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/analysts/) [Conscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscious/) [Definitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/definitions/) [Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freud/) [Investigate Unconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/investigate-unconscious-5218935/) [Psychoanalysis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychoanalysis/) [Psychoanalysis Pretends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychoanalysis-pretends-5218934/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Unconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconscious/) [Unconscious Definition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconscious-definition-5218936/) [Unconscious Unconscious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unconscious-unconscious-1531688/) ## Related quotes > [The beginning of art is not reason. It is the buried treasure of the unconscious...that unconscious which has more understanding than our lucidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgard-varese/the-beginning-of-art-is-not-reason-it-is-the-buried-treasure-of-the/) [Edgard Varese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgard-varese/) > [“He’s unconscious now. He’s unconscious every time I leave him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryce-o-connor/he-s-unconscious-now-he-s-unconscious-every-time-i-leave-him/) [Bryce O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryce-o-connor/) > [Why do analysts always answer a question with a question?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/why-do-analysts-always-answer-a-question-with-a-question/) [Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/) > [When I went to the analyst for a kind of preliminary meeting, he said, 'I'll be able to fix you so that you'll write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/when-i-went-to-the-analyst-for-a-kind-of-preliminary-meeting-he-said/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) > [Freudian therapists do a lot of listening and very little persuading, and that was one of the reasons I eventually gave up being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/freudian-therapists-do-a-lot-of-listening-and-very-little-persuading/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [At first the analysing physician could do no more than discover the unconscious material that was concealed from the patient, put it together, and,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/at-first-the-analysing-physician-could-do-no-more-than-discover-the/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I wrote several articles criticizing psychoanalysis, but the analysts weren't listening to my objections. So I finally quit after practicing it for six years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ellis/i-wrote-several-articles-criticizing-psychoanalysis-but-the-analysts/) [Albert Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ellis/) > [This is what analysts have calculated. It's a number that's out there and we're not arguing with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-edward-kirk/this-is-what-analysts-have-calculated-it-s-a-number-that-s-out-there/) [David Edward Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-edward-kirk/) > [I'm old-fashioned, a storyteller. I'm not an analyst and I'm not an intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-m-old-fashioned-a-storyteller-i-m-not-an-analyst-and-i-m-not-an/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [“analysts were more likely to maintain their star performance if they worked with high-quality colleagues in their teams and departments. 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He has the true 1960s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-respect-the-astute-and-rigorously-unsentimental-david-horowitz-as/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [In the corporate world, if you have analysts, due diligence, and no horse sense, you've just described hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/in-the-corporate-world-if-you-have-analysts-due-diligence-and-no/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [Freud pointed out, in his Problem of Lay Analysis, that it is extremely unlikely that a young man who would throw the best years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/freud-pointed-out-in-his-problem-of-lay-analysis-that-it-is-extremely/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [In Hollywood, not to have an analyst is virtually an admission of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-vanderbilt/in-hollywood-not-to-have-an-analyst-is-virtually-an-admission-of/) [Amy Vanderbilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-vanderbilt/) ## More by Saul Bellow > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [I have begun in old age to understand just how oddly we are all put together. We are so proud of our autonomy that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-have-begun-in-old-age-to-understand-just-how-oddly-we-are-all-put/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“On Broadway it was still bright afternoon and the gassy air was almost motionless under the leaden spokes of sunlight, and sawdust footprints lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/on-broadway-it-was-still-bright-afternoon-and-the-gassy-air-was/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are evils that have the ability to survive identification and go on for ever... money, for instance, or war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-evils-that-have-the-ability-to-survive-identification-and/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Myself is thus and so, and will continue thus and so. And why fight it? My balance comes from instability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/myself-is-thus-and-so-and-will-continue-thus-and-so-and-why-fight-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“A strange heart. I myself can't account for it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-strange-heart-i-myself-can-t-account-for-it/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [The late philosopher Morris R. Cohen of CCNY was asked by a student in the metaphysics course, Professor Cohen, how do I know that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/the-late-philosopher-morris-r-cohen-of-ccny-was-asked-by-a-student-in/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“Therefore we didn't talk of genuine things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/therefore-we-didn-t-talk-of-genuine-things/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Is our species crazy? Plenty of evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/is-our-species-crazy-plenty-of-evidence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“But now the emphasis has shifted to making it. People have surrendered their personal moral objectives to government or schools or psychologists. It’s a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/but-now-the-emphasis-has-shifted-to-making-it-people-have-surrendered/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There's a kind of emptiness at the center of life ... nothing to form your life on, or by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-s-a-kind-of-emptiness-at-the-center-of-life-nothing-to-form/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“I don't know how it all at once came to me to talk a lot, tell jokes, kick up, and suddenly have views. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/i-don-t-know-how-it-all-at-once-came-to-me-to-talk-a-lot-tell-jokes/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There are times when the most practical thing is to lie down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/there-are-times-when-the-most-practical-thing-is-to-lie-down/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“For knowledge of death makes us wish to extend our lives at the expense of others. And this is the root of the struggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/for-knowledge-of-death-makes-us-wish-to-extend-our-lives-at-the/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) [Explore all 464 Saul Bellow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) ## More Analysts quotes > [In Hollywood, not to have an analyst is virtually an admission of failure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-vanderbilt/in-hollywood-not-to-have-an-analyst-is-virtually-an-admission-of/) [Amy Vanderbilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-vanderbilt/) > [Freud pointed out, in his Problem of Lay Analysis, that it is extremely unlikely that a young man who would throw the best years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-goodman/freud-pointed-out-in-his-problem-of-lay-analysis-that-it-is-extremely/) [Paul Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-goodman/) > [In the corporate world, if you have analysts, due diligence, and no horse sense, you've just described hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/in-the-corporate-world-if-you-have-analysts-due-diligence-and-no/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [I respect the astute and rigorously unsentimental David Horowitz as one of America's most original and courageous political analysts. He has the true 1960s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-respect-the-astute-and-rigorously-unsentimental-david-horowitz-as/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [There was an analyst who came out the other day who's had a long track record of projecting presidential campaigns based on the economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/there-was-an-analyst-who-came-out-the-other-day-who-s-had-a-long/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [“analysts were more likely to maintain their star performance if they worked with high-quality colleagues in their teams and departments. The star analysts relied…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-m-grant/analysts-were-more-likely-to-maintain-their-star-performance-if-they/) [Adam M. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-m-grant/) > [I'm old-fashioned, a storyteller. I'm not an analyst and I'm not an intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/i-m-old-fashioned-a-storyteller-i-m-not-an-analyst-and-i-m-not-an/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [This is what analysts have calculated. It's a number that's out there and we're not arguing with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-edward-kirk/this-is-what-analysts-have-calculated-it-s-a-number-that-s-out-there/) [David Edward Kirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-edward-kirk/) > [I go to an analyst not because I need to but because I choose to and maybe that's the difference. I don't think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-tyler-moore/i-go-to-an-analyst-not-because-i-need-to-but-because-i-choose-to-and/) [Mary Tyler Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-tyler-moore/) > [I feel genuinely sorry for those who are so blinded by narrow partisanship that they cannot appreciate Limbaugh's energy, intelligence and satiric skill. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/i-feel-genuinely-sorry-for-those-who-are-so-blinded-by-narrow/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [At nineteen I was pretty sure I was going to be a professional soccer player. At that time I played for one of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-nesbo/at-nineteen-i-was-pretty-sure-i-was-going-to-be-a-professional-soccer/) [Jo Nesbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-nesbo/) > [Analysts may be correct that the presidential election won't primarily turn on entitlements reform, but by choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-limbaugh/analysts-may-be-correct-that-the-presidential-election-won-t/) [David Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-limbaugh/) > [The correct attitude of the security analyst toward the stock market might well be that of a man toward his wife. 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