My objection is not about unconsciousness, nor is it about consciousness—it is about the division of the mind/brain into two systems.
I’d like to expand on this point by merging it with pjeby’s comment:
Remember: it isn’t conscious (not an agent), and it’s not singular (not an agent).
There’s nothing wrong, per se, with dividing the mind into conscious and unconscious, any more than any division into a category and its complement. The problem comes when the unconscious is made out to be highly parallel to the (usual picture of the) conscious mind, including a high degree of internal coherence, capacity for sophisticated goal-seeking, etc.
Additional problems may come from viewing the conscious mind as having a single coherent focus (“it’s the PR department”). The conscious mind comes across as too homunculized. Tim Tyler’s view makes more sense to me: PR is one function among many.
I’d like to expand on this point by merging it with pjeby’s comment:
There’s nothing wrong, per se, with dividing the mind into conscious and unconscious, any more than any division into a category and its complement. The problem comes when the unconscious is made out to be highly parallel to the (usual picture of the) conscious mind, including a high degree of internal coherence, capacity for sophisticated goal-seeking, etc.
Additional problems may come from viewing the conscious mind as having a single coherent focus (“it’s the PR department”). The conscious mind comes across as too homunculized. Tim Tyler’s view makes more sense to me: PR is one function among many.