[Ads-l] Mind-iceberg simile (probable not created by Sigmund Freud)

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

A figurative framework often attributed to Sigmund Freud compares a
mind and an iceberg. The conscious mind corresponds to the part of the
iceberg above the waterline, and the subconscious mind corresponds to
the part below the waterline. The fraction below the waterline varies,
e.g., six-sevenths, seven-eighths, and nine-tenths.

Way back in 2013 I was asked via twitter to explore this topic, and I
responded with the results of a preliminary search. Now, a Quote
Investigator article is available:

https://quoteinvestigator.com/2024/08/07/mind-iceberg/

In 1929 the “New York Herald Tribune” credited Sigmund Freud with the
following metaphorical statement. This was the earliest linkage to
Freud I was able to find:

[Begin excerpt]
The mind is an iceberg. It floats with only one-seventh of its bulk above water.
[End excerpt]

I have not found any substantive support for the attribution to Freud.
The statement above was already in circulation, and the figurative
framework can be traced back to an 1898 article by prominent U.S.
psychologist G. Stanley Hall.

Feedback welcome
Garson

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