Have you ever found yourself saying something you didn't mean to? For example, substituting bed for bread or queen for clean. Still more subtly would be a person who is uneasy about an appointment that's scheduled for Tuesday and "accidentally" says to the person with whom the appointment is scheduled "okay, I'll be there Wednesday", perhaps meaning that they wish the appointment were scheduled later or even that they wish to miss the meeting entirely. Freud's philosophy on these slips of the tongue is that the unconscious mind is at work. Freud believes that the mind is like an iceberg, only a small part is visible.
The unconscious mind holds "dirty thoughts" which aren't said aloud, sometimes you don't even know your mind holds them. The unconscious mind isn't visible because it wouldn't be polite so repeat anything from deep down. Freud believes that this is where thoughts of greed, pride, lust, jealousy, and violence hide. Freud explains a slip of the tongue, as the unconscious mind showing through the surface. So next your best friend asks you how her outfit looks, and you want to answer terrible! be careful you don't have a Freudian slip!
