This work examines the notion of unconscious in a historical perspective. The unconscious is one of the central categories of psychoanalysis and recognizes various theoretical backgrounds. Firstly, the origin of the term in the philosophical reflection and in the theoretical references of psychiatry is exposed. Secondly, the unconscious in the theoretical elaborations of Freud is developed. Finally, the different ways used by Freud to legitimate the unconscious mind in the psychoanalytical frame are exposed.
Unconscious; Freud; history; psychoanalysis