This builds on the much larger conversation outlined, in part, at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_are_unknown_unknowns
Slavoj Žižek: "beyond these three categories there is a fourth, the unknown known, that which one intentionally refuses to acknowledge that one knows: 'If Rumsfeld thinks that the main dangers in the confrontation with Iraq were the 'unknown unknowns', that is, the threats from Saddam whose nature we cannot even suspect, then the Abu Ghraib scandal shows that the main dangers lie in the 'unknown knowns'—the disavowed beliefs, suppositions and obscene practices we pretend not to know about, even though they form the background of our public values." (1)
The grid below refines Žižek's reaction and is an attempt to offer a helpful way to understand the difference between the psychological theories of the Subconscious and Unconscious.
| Conscious | Subconcsious | Unconscious | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operational Awareness |
"Known knowns" Aware of and understood |
"Unacknowledged knowns" Operational awareness voluntarily repressed but understood, especially via others, and accessible through reflection and retrospect |
|
"Obscured knowns" Acknowledged lack of operational awareness except via impact and indirection--inaccessible, except through others
|
|
| Operatonal Ignorance |
"Known unknowns" Aware of lacking understanding |
|
"Guessed Unknowns" Operational awareness involuntarily repressed/inaccessible until agency and impact can be established, especially with others through experience |
|
"Unknowable unknowns" Impact multiply repressed and beyond scope neither suspected nor accounted for despite evidence
|
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(1) Žižek, Slavoj (May 21, 2004). "What Rumsfeld Doesn't Know That He Knows About Abu Ghraib". In These Times. Retrieved February 23, 2009 – via lacan.com.
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