The concept of "psycho-epistemology" is introduced in order to designate the study of mental operations on the
conscious and subconscious levels of man's mind. The subject is an extremely broad one, and involves many issues
that are beyond the scope of this discussion. I shall confine myself in the present context, to those essentials which
have a direct bearing on the question of mental health.
Mental processes may be conscious or subconscious, and volitional or automatic. In any act of thinking, there is
constant interaction between conscious, volitional operations and subconscious, automatic ones. For example, the
goal of solving a certain problem is chosen consciously, and knowledge retained on a subconscious level is
instantly activated and made an integral part of the thinking that ensues. On the conscious level, the mind sets
goals, breaks problems into sub-problems, monitors the thinking process for consistency, relevance, etc.; on the
subconscious level, the mind's vast integrative machinery, utilizing previously acquired knowledge, memories,
observations, associations, etc., works to provide the material which will lead to the achievement of those chosen
goals.
This interaction between the conscious, volitional operations of man's mind and the subconscious, automatic
operations, is characteristic of all goal-directed mental activity—whether the goal be to achieve knowledge, or to
evoke a memory, or to imagine some event, etc.
Psycho-epistemology is the study of the nature of, and the relationship between, the conscious, goal-setting, self-
regulatory operations of the mind, and the subconscious, automatic operations.
This branch of psychology is concerned with all the possible types of mental operations (normal and pathological)
of which man's mind is capable; and with individual differences among men in their manner of cognitive
functioning.
I have stressed the fact that man is a self-programmer whose conclusions, values, and standing orders direct the
automatic integrative mechanism of his subconscious (Chapter Five). As a person develops, he acquires a
characteristic manner of cognitive functioning—a characteristic method of dealing with problems, thinking about
issues, "processing" the data of reality, etc. He may acquire the habit of seeking the highest possible level of mental