A Reconstruction of the Freudian Unconscious ABSTRACT: This article outlines a reconstruction of the Freudian unconscious, as well as an argument for its existence. The strategy followed eludes extensive debates about the validity of Freud's methods and conclusions. It is argued that people have, as ideal types, two basic ways of satisfying their desires: engagement with reality and wishful thinking. The first mode recognizes the constraints that reality imposes on the satisfaction of desires, while the second mode ignores or denies these constraints, to the extent that they threaten to make such satisfaction impossible or unattainable. The more aware you are that wishful thinking is just that, the less effective it becomes. Wishful thinking therefore requires an unconscious; is hostile to clear, complete and unambiguous recognition of one's status. The unconscious is subsequently reconceptualized in non-Cartesian terms; it is largely made up of semantic phenomena: forms of representation that would hide their meaning even if the full light of "attention", Cartesian "consciousness" or "introspection" were thrown on them. If wishful thinking is an integral part of psychic life, philosophers and all those who wish to "educate humanity" will have to proceed very differently than would have been appropriate if rational thought and action had been the only available option to satisfy desires. "Humanity cannot bear too much reality": sketch for a reconstruction of the Freudian Unconscious. Freud and his legacy remain controversial. Although often declared dead, they refuse to die. This article is not intended to be a total defense of Freud. Its aim is limited: to show that any adequate theory of mind will have to postulate something similar to Freud's notion of the unconscious. It can also be read as a schematic statement of what I think needs to be minimally recovered from Freud's notion of the unconscious. (1) While Freud may need revision – even a radical one – a total rejection of his thinking would cripple our ability to understand ourselves and others. If philosophy needed to educate humanity, it should first allow itself to be educated by, among others, Freud and his legacy. "Desire is the father of thought." It is commonly recognized that when people cannot satisfy their desires by controlling reality, they engage in wishful thinking. In this article I try to systematize the distinction between the two modes of dealing with desires: "the realistic mode" and (for lack of a better term) "wishful thinking." They constitute the two ends of a continuum, not a dichotomy: