Nina A Leshinskaya

The question of implicit vs. explicit learning deals with the role of consciousness in human cognition. It has been claimed that implicit learning is an unconscious process that results in abstract, rule-governed knowledge. There have also been counterclaims that learning cannot be unconscious or that unconscious learning cannot lead to abstract knowledge. The debate is related to research in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and views on unconscious and consciousness in philosophy.
The essay identifies several kinds of implicit and explicit learning phenomena and argues not for the dissociation but for the collaboration of implicit, explicit, and subconscious processes in human cognition.