Inside Out – The Selves: Exploring the Hypothesis of Three Minds and the Interplay of Conscious, Unconscious, and Abstract Systems

The human mind has fascinated thinkers, healers, and philosophers for millennia. From the earliest days of recorded history, people have contemplated what it means to think, feel, imagine, and dream. Modern research in neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, and computer science has introduced new frameworks for conceptualising these mental processes, providing empirical data that supports centuries of speculation. This essay introduces a hypothesis that the human psyche can be divided into three minds: (1) a fast or reactive mind—often equated with the unconscious; (2) a slower, rational mind—the conscious; and (3) an abstract or subliminal mind, which becomes most active during sleep and dreams.

The proposition is that the conscious mind, although essential for rational thought and social functioning, is relatively slow. It typically lags behind immediate experience by a fraction of a second—commonly cited as about half a second—before incoming stimuli rise to the level of awareness (Libet, 1985). Meanwhile, the unconscious mind reacts swiftly, shaping most of our immediate responses and impulsive behaviours. Finally, the abstract mind, predominantly active during sleep, processes and integrates experiences from both the conscious and the unconscious. Understanding these three systems and their interactions offers a perspective into how human beings learn, adapt, and cope with the world.

Within this framework, numerous modern disorders—such as stress, anxiety, depression, and various forms of addictive behaviour—may be partly attributable to an undereducated conscious mind that fails to harmonise with its unconscious counterpart. The essay thus postulates that educating and training young individuals from an early age can help them better navigate these three mind-systems. In so doing, they become more integrated, balanced, and resilient. This discussion will span the fields of neuroscience, psychology, evolution, anthropology, psychoanalysis, neurology, philosophy, computer science, and history, bringing together a wide range of research findings and theories that reinforce or challenge this three-minds hypothesis.