Underworlds: Philosophies of the Unconscious from Psychoanalysis to Metaphysics

About the Texts. Introduction: Underworlds and the Ancient Soul. Hegel on Unconscious Spirit. Freud's Unconscious Ontology. Existentialism & the Unconscious Subject. Lacan's Epistemology. Jung's Metaphysics. Whitehead's Unconscious Cosmology. About the Author. Index.

"This book is a complex and compelling journey into the intersection of philosophy and psychoanalysis. The author provides a masterful understanding of the unconscious roots of ancient cultural beliefs, the intricacy of Hegel's philosophical insights, and of Freud's unique fusion of ancient and modern ways of conceptualizing the human mind. Challenging and fascinating views on the death drive and the nature of human conflict are introduced. The reader is familiarized with the true philosophical depth in the works of existentialism, Lacan, Jung, and Whitehead. All these topics and more come with intricate and well researched detail, bringing the reader to a new awareness of how much the foundational concepts of psychoanalysis have emerged from and continue to be influenced by the core elements of philosophy and metaphysics." Robert Waska LPCC, MFT, PhD, author and psychoanalyst, San Francisco, California. "In Underworlds, Mills gives us a whirlwind, erudite, and cogent tour of depictions of the unconscious from ancient Egypt to Whitehead. His facility in the worlds of both Philosophy and Psychoanalysis enable him to consider psychoanalytic concepts such as the Unconscious, soul, the death drive, and authenticity in relation to their earlier underpinnings in philosophy, helping to form a bridge that links the perspectives of Freud, Lacan, and Jung with their underlying metapsychologies. These considerations invite the reader to reflect on the search for deeper ultimate meaning inherent in the psychoanalytic enterprise." Marilyn Charles, Austen Riggs Center, Massachusetts, USA. "What a pleasure to read Jon Mills leading us through a wonderland of philosophical and depth psychological explorations of our feeling soul working through unconscious processes. A colorful, productive tour of the creative unconscious in a variety of guises. How can something so "low" lift us so "high"? The author lives what he thinks and thinks what he lives." Michael Eigen, Author, Contact With the Depths, Flames from the Unconscious, Kabbalah and Psychoanalysis.