Sigmund Freud? G. Stanley Hall? Henry H. Goddard? Julia Turner? Percy Dearmer? Carlos María de Heredia? Woods Hutchinson?
Question for Quote Investigator: The subconscious mind has an enormous influence on human behavior. A clever simile juxtaposes 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 mind is like an iceberg—it floats with only one seventh of its bulk above water.
This notion has been attributed to the famous Austrian psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, but I am skeptical because I have never seen a solid citation. Would you please explore the history of this simile?
Reply from Quote Investigator: The earliest instance of this simile known to QI occurred in an article by the prominent U.S. psychologist G. Stanley Hall published in “The American Journal of Psychology” in 1898. Boldface added to excerpts by QI:1
We have sought the real ego in the intellect. It is not there, nor yet in the will, which is a far better expression of it than thought. Its nucleus is below the threshold of consciousness. The mistake of ego-theorists is akin to that of those who thought icebergs were best studied from above the surface and were moved by winds, when in fact about nine-tenths of their mass is submerged, and they follow the deeper and more constant oceanic currents, often in the teeth of gales, vitiating all the old aerodynamic equations.
In 1908 G. Stanley Hall employed the simile again within an article published in “Appleton’s Magazine”. His phrasing was closer to the statement under examination although he used the fraction nine-tenths:2
Again, as nine tenths of an iceberg is submerged and hidden, and as it follows aquatic rather than aërial currents, so most of the human soul is unconscious; but it is just that part, with its own laws of which we know so little, that dominates trances, second states, hypnoidal conditions, etc. Consciousness is only the small fraction of the soul that projects above the horizon, threshold, or sea level, into the light of day, and is seen and felt; and if it were conscious, would itself wish and feel other things, but would not be aware of its own sunken bulk.
Interestingly, Hall recognised that the simile was imperfect, and his article mentioned this criticism:
The iceberg simile limps if pushed too far because the subliminal psyche is of different texture, and is more or less partitioned off from the super-liminal soul.
The phrasing of this simile has evolved over time, and it has been used by many people who have studied the human mind. The fraction of the iceberg below the waterline varies in size, e.g., six-sevenths, seven-eighths, and nine-tenths.
QI has not yet found any substantive evidence that Sigmund Freud crafted this saying. Freud received credit in 1929 after the figurative language was in wide circulation.
Below are additional selected citations in chronological order.
The comparison of the mind to an iceberg has a long history. For example, in 1875 a newspaper published a column titled “Diamonds” which listed a collection of witty/cogent statements. Yet, the following mind/iceberg simile was different. The unconscious mind was not referenced, and the partition along the waterline was not mentioned:3
A great mind advances like an iceberg, borne on by a deep under current, against the surface flow which sweeps the superficial along.
In 1883 “The Educational Weekly” published a piece by B. G. Northrop which contained another different mind/iceberg simile:4
So, kindle a glow in the sensibilities and all the springs of mental life are at once in motion. Without this heat, the mind is like an iceberg, resplendent indeed, but only with a cold and sterile brightness. So the cold and selfish soul must be sterile in all heroic virtues.
In 1898 G. Stanley Hall published a piece containing the mind/iceberg simile in “The American Journal of Psychology” as mentioned previously in this article.
In 1899 the periodical “Friends’ Intelligencer” of Pennsylvania reported that U.S. psychologist Henry H. Goddard used the simile while speaking at a conference:5
The best and concluding words on teaching children were spoken by Prof. Goddard, of Maine, who has been appointed to fill the chair of Pedagogy in the Normal School at West Chester.
He said the unconscious part of our lives and influence had about the same relation to the conscious as the submerged portion of an iceberg has to that which is in sight. It was only as the principles of right conduct and thinking so impregnated our whole being that they unconsciously controlled our lives, and not only our own, but others, that we could fulfill the high calling of instructors.
In 1908 G. Stanley Hall used the simile again in “Appleton’s Magazine” as mentioned previously in this article:
. . . as nine tenths of an iceberg is submerged and hidden, and as it follows aquatic rather than aërial currents, so most of the human soul is unconscious.
In 1909 English Anglican priest Percy Dearmer published “Body and Soul: An Enquiry Into the Effect of Religion Upon Health”, and he employed the simile without attribution:6
. . . to put the matter in a still simpler metaphor, the mind is like an iceberg of which the greater part is hidden under the sea: so is the greater part of us submerged in unconsciousness. The part which we know in ordinary life is but a fraction of our human personality, and that which is continued below the level of our normal consciousness is called the subconscious self, or the unconscious mind, or the subliminal self.
Also, in 1909 an article in “Current Literature” credited G. Stanley Hall with the simile:7
Most appropriately, President Hall continues, the manifestations in the realm of the psychic have been attributed to the sub-conscious. In very truth, he thinks they reveal the under side, the “night side,” of life.
“As nine-tenths of an iceberg is submerged and hidden, and as it follows aquatic rather than aërial currents, so most of the human soul is unconscious; but it is just that part, with its own laws of which we know so little, that dominates trances, second states, hypnoidal conditions, etc.”
In 1919 an article in “The Psychological Review” ascribed the iceberg analogy to Hall. The fraction mentioned was seven-eighths instead of nine-tenths:8
To use Stanley Hall’s analogy, the mind is like an iceberg, seven eighths invisible (unconscious), and the motive force which impels a man to act as he does is the total force of the entire system, only a small portion of which appears in consciousness.
In 1922 an article in “The Sun” newspaper of Baltimore, Maryland attributed the simile to Hall:9
What this subconscious mind is has been strikingly illustrated by the greatest psychologist of today, Professor Stanley Hall. The human mind is like an iceberg, only one-tenth of which is visible above water, nine-tenths is below the surface. It may seem that the iceberg is being swept along by winds and surface currents, but in fact, it is being moved by invisible forces working upon the submerged bulk which is out of sight.
Also, in 1922 the journal “American Medicine” published a piece which attributed the simile to Hall:10
If we are to accept G. Stanley Hall’s definition of the mind as being comparable to an iceberg which is seven-eighths submerged and one-eighth visible or conscious, then we may as well go a step farther and take into consideration the law of compensation.
Also, in 1922 magician and priest Carlos María de Heredia published “Spiritism and Common Sense”. He used the simile without attribution:11
The mind is like an iceberg; seven-eighths of it are under water, one-eighth alone is above the surface. The part of the ice above the surface resembles the conscious mind; the part below, the subconscious mind.
In 1923 the psychologist Julia Turner published “The Psychology of Self-Consciousness”. She ascribed the simile to Hall. Her phrasing used the word “bulk” which appears in modern instances:12
It must be remembered that consciousness represents only a portion of the mental activity of an individual. Dr. Stanley Hall’s comparison of the human mind to an iceberg is well known. An iceberg shows one-eighth of its bulk above sea level, the rest being submerged. The submerged part of the mind is termed subliminal, i.e. below the limen (Latin) or threshold of consciousness.
Also, in 1923 physician Woods Hutchinson published a piece titled “Your Unconscious” in “The Saturday Evening Post”. He employed two vivid similes without attribution:13
There is no hard-and-fast division or water-tight bulkhead between the conscious and the subconscious minds; but groups of ideas from the lower are perpetually rising up into the light of day in the higher, and then falling back again like water in a boiling pot.
Or the conscious mind may be compared to a fountain or geyser playing in the sun and falling back again into the great subterranean pool of the subconscious from which it rises.
Or in point of relative bulk and volume, figuratively speaking, the mind is like an iceberg which floats with only about one-seventh of its bulk above water and in the full light of day.
In 1929 the magazine section of the “New York Herald Tribune” published an article about Sigmund Freud titled “The Czar of Psychoanalysis” by William Leon Smyser. The author attributed the geyser simile and the iceberg metaphor to Freud:14
“The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of the subconscious from which it rises.” . . .
“The mind is an iceberg. It floats with only one-seventh of its bulk above water.”
These are the words of a man who knows how to string together like beads the sparkling facts of science.
In 1932 an article in “The Boston Globe” ascribed the iceberg metaphor to Freud:15
“The mind is an iceberg,” Freud once said. “It floats with only one-seventh of its bulk above water….”
In 1933 New York columnist Ruth Cameron used the iceberg metaphor without attribution:16
Man’s mind is an iceberg. Above the surface is one-tenth man’s conscious mind, his thinking processes. Underneath is the nine-tenths; his instincts, his subconscious thought, his feelings.
In 1939 “The New York Times” reported on the death of Sigmund Freud. The article ascribed the iceberg and geyser metaphors to Freud:17
“The mind is an iceberg—It floats with only one-seventh of its bulk above water,” was one of his metaphorical statements on the vast preponderance of the subconscious element in human life. Another was, “The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of the subconscious from which it rises.”
In 1967 “The Great Quotations” compiled by George Seldes contained the following entry:18
The mind is an iceberg—it floats with only one-seventh of its bulk above water.
Sigmund Freud: Quotation in N. Y. Times obituary, September 24, 1939.
In 1971 “Bartlett’s Unfamiliar Quotations” compiled by Leonard Louis Levinson contained these two entries without citations:19
The mind is an iceberg—it floats with only one-seventh of its bulk above water. Freud
The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of the subconscious from which it rises. Freud
In 2000 the “Encarta Book of Quotations” contained the following entry:20
Freud, Sigmund (1856-1939) Austrian psychoanalyst
The mind is an iceberg; it floats with only 17% of its bulk above water.
Bartlett’s Unfamiliar Quotations (Leonard Louis Levinson, ed.; 1972)
In conclusion, U.S. psychologist G. Stanley Hall is the leading candidate for creator of this mind/iceberg simile based on the 1898 citation. U.S. psychologist Henry H. Goddard also used the simile shortly afterwards in 1899. During the ensuing decades the phrasing evolved, and the fractions mentioned varied.
The first attribution to Sigmund Freud occurred in 1929 which is a very late date. QI has found no substantive evidence supporting the ascription to Freud.
Image Notes: Picture of an iceberg from Annie Spratt at Unsplash. The image has been cropped and resized.
Acknowledgements: Great thanks to Casper Hulshof whose inquiry led QI to formulate this question and perform this exploration. Also, thanks to twitter thread participants Jeni G and Funky Flashman. Hulshof and Funky Flashman pointed to the important 1898 G. Stanley Hall citation. Further thanks to the volunteer editors of the Sigmund Freud Wikiquote webpage.
- 1898 April, The American Journal of Psychology, Volume 9, Number 3, Some Aspects of the Early Sense of Self by G. Stanley Hall, Start Page 351, Quote Page 393, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1908 December, Appleton’s Magazine, Volume 12, Number 6, Spooks and Telepathy by G. Stanley Hall, Start Page 677, Quote Page 680, D. Appleton and Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1875 December 25, Kings County Rural Gazette, Diamonds, Quote Page 4, Column 2, Flatbush, long Island. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1883 December 29, The Educational Weekly, Volume 1, Number 26, School Incentives by Hon. B. G. Northrop, Start Page 10, Quote Page 11, Column 1, J. M. Olcott & Company Publishers, Indianapolis, Indiana. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1899 July 22, Friends’ Intelligencer, Educational Conference, (Report on the Friends’ Sixth Educational Conference), Start Page 573, Quote Page 574, Friends’ Intelligencer Association, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1909 Copyright, Body and Soul: An Enquiry Into the Effect of Religion Upon Health by Percy Dearmer, Chapter 5: The Undermind or Subconscious Self, Quote Page 39, E. P. Dutton & Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1909 March, Current Literature, Volume 46, Number 3, New Efforts To Account For Spiritualistic Phenomena, Start Page 291, Quote Page 293, The Current Literature Publishing Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1919 May, The Psychological Review, Volume 26, Number 3, The Nature of Mentality by Henry Nelson Wieman (Occidental College), Start Page 230, Quote Page 237, Psychological Review Company, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.(Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1922 July 23, The Sun, Dr. Foote Reveals Latest Powers Concealed In Subconscious Mind by Wyllys Rede (President of Mount Vernon College, Baltimore), Section 5, Quote Page 14, Column 2, Baltimore, Maryland. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1922 October, American Medicine, Volume 28, Number 10, The Relation of Sex and Cultural Repression To Social and National Progress by William H. Thaler M.D. of St Louis, Missouri, Start Page 570, Quote Page 571, American Medical Publishing Company, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1922 Copyright, Spiritism and Common Sense by C. M. de Heredia (Carlos María de Heredia), Chapter 10: Research for Psychical Phenomena: The Message from the Subconscious Mind, Quote Page 103, P. J. Kenedy & Sons, Publishers to the Holy Apostolic See, New York. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1923, The Psychology of Self-Consciousness by Julia Turner (President of the Psychological Aid Society), Chapter 4: The Mechanisms of Self-Consciousness Are the Dream Mechanisms Which Have Been Described by Professor Freud, Quote Page 78 and 79, Kegan Paul, Trench Trubner & Company, London. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1923 March 17, The Saturday Evening Post, Your Unconscious by Woods Hutchinson M.D., Start Page 8, Quote Page 169, Column 2, The Curtis Publishing Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Google Books Full View) link ↩︎
- 1929 April 28, New York Herald Tribune, Section: Magazine, The Czar of Psychoanalysis by William Leon Smyser, Start Page 6, Quote Page 7, Column 1, New York. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1932 December 11, The Boston Globe, Psychoanalysts Will Have School in Boston by Geoffrey Parsons Jr., Quote Page 32, Column 4, Boston, Massachusetts. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1933 August 19, Democrat and Chronicle, A Woman’s Philosophy by Ruth Cameron, Quote Page 6, Column 6, Rochester, New York. (Newspapers_com) ↩︎
- 1939 September 24, The New York Times, Dr. Sigmund Freud Dies In Exile at 83 (Special Cable to The New York Times), Quote Page 1, Column 2, New York. (ProQuest) ↩︎
- 1967, The Great Quotations, Compiled by George Seldes, Topic: Mind, Quote Page 657, Pocket Books. New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 1971, Bartlett’s Unfamiliar Quotations, Compiled by Leonard Louis Levinson, Topic: The Mind, Quote Page 185, Cowles Book Company: Henry Regnery Company, Chicago, Illinois. (Verified with scans) ↩︎
- 2000, Encarta Book of Quotations, Edited by Bill Swainson, Entry: Sigmund Freud, Quote Page 354, St. Martin’s Press, New York. (Verified with scans) ↩︎