Abstract

In the theory of spiritual or pastoral care (poimenics) today, consciousness of the self and feeling of the soul have to be correlated. Ulrich Barth has stressed the importance of conceiving both in reciprocal supplementation and complementarity. This idea can already be found in the thinking of Friedrich Schleiermacher. In spite of the relevance of psychoanalytic theory to this topic, Barth does not refer to Freud regarding the question of what scholars need to consider in speaking of the human soul. This essay aims to integrate a psychoanalytic exploration of the unconscious into the foundations of a poimenic that finds its modern shape in the conceptions of Schleiermacher. This integration requires a critical review and discussion of the “last thoughts” (Dieter Henrich), which gives Freudian psychoanalysis its orientation. In poimenics, theological categories and symbols open a perspective to make the self aware of the internal tensions among consciousness, feeling, and the unconscious.