The liberal humanist is concerned with judging the quality of written work, determining if it is literature - artistic writing. Such 'great works' are of timeless quality, judged outside of social and cultural conditions. Liberal humanists seek to build a 'canon' of authoritative and 'legitimate' works of literature, they seem themselves as custodians of the great list. Popular 'low' culture is judged of little value. Liberal humanists are interested in what a text says about 'the human condition' about universal truths and human nature.
Literature is seen to have a responsibility to enhance life and act as a foundation of civilisation.
The mind became split between the conscious element and the hidden subconscious depths. Psychoanalysis is concerned with the excavation of unresolved conflicts, buried desires and the traumas of the past, particularly childhood. These repressed issues would manifest themselves through subtle and accidental ways or become projected onto other issues or people. Psychoanalysis emphasises the importance of the unconscious. Not just the exploration of the unconscious life of fictional characters.