ABSTRACT
Psychoanalytic research begins with the perceptual data of consciousness. Sigmund Freud divided these data into two broad categories—namely, physical perceptions and psychic perceptions. Accordingly, the object of psychoanalytic research is that aspect of reality which determines introspective consciousness. The term “psychical reality” refers to the unconscious reality within us, when it is considered from the viewpoint of subjective awareness. Psychoanalysts are painfully aware of the fact that the external surface of consciousness is better adapted than the internal surface to the requirements of natural scientific observation. Psychoanalysis describes it mentally; anatomy and physiology describe it physically. Psychoanalysts study reality from the viewpoint of the internal surface of consciousness. The outer surface of the cerebrum is conventionally subdivided into two major structuro-functional units. The first of these units—the posterior part—principally subserves perceptual and representational functions. The second unit—the anterior part—principally subserves motor and executive functions.
