ABSTRACT
The development of consciousness is a slow and laborious process that took untold ages to reach the civilized state. Although the development since that date seems to be considerable, it is still far from complete. Indefinitely large areas of the mind still remain in darkness. A doctor sees so many things from the seamy side of life that he is seldom far from the truth when he interprets the hints which his patient is emitting as signs of an uneasy conscience. What he eventually discovers, unfortunately, confirms his expectations. Thus far nobody can say anything against Freud's theory of repression and wish-fulfilment as apparent causes of dream symbolism. It is a long way indeed from primitivity to a reliable cohesion of consciousness. Freud was the first who tried to elucidate the unconscious background of consciousness in an empirical way.
