"The unconscious is not a concept, it is a rhetorical device." So wrote Stanley Fish in his article "Withholding the Missing Portion". Fish's article argues that Freud's primary concern in his writings is to convince the reader of the strength of his interpretations and the validity of his theory through his intelligent use of rhetoric. In particular, Fish refers to the role of the unconscious in Freud's theory, arguing that it can be freely manipulated by Freud in such a way that it can appear to be responsible for any data acquired in practice. This attitude reflects the common opinion among contemporary scientists that Freud's theories are unscientific. In this essay, I aim to argue that, although Fish makes a valid case for Freud's use of the unconscious as a rhetorical device, viewing it only as a rhetorical device and dismissing its importance as a scientific concept is not only unjustified, but also impractical in psychological theories of mind. Freud's theories, I argue, are no less scientific than other scientific theories. Before stating my arguments regarding this topic, I will examine Fish's position in more detail, to understand the import of his claim. A rhetorical device, according to Fish, «is entirely constructed and stands without external support», and «since it has been installed at the center of a structure of belief it acquires the status of what goes without saying and what cannot be countered say anything." According to Fish, the Freudian idea of ​​the unconscious fits these definitions. By postulating a component of the mind that is completely inaccessible to us, Freud is constructing a theory that is completely underdetermined by the data. It cannot be validated or refuted by observation alone. Rather, as Fish says, "the unconscious... is a placeholder that can be given whatever form the polemical moment requires." Therefore, the unconscious becomes, for Freud, a flexible instrument in his theory only can it be given any desirable form so that it appears to validate his interpretation of his observations, but Freud can also select a particular interpretation of his observations that appears to validate his assertions about the nature of the unconscious. It follows that Freud is able to make any apparently inconsistent data compatible with his theory by manipulating his idea of ​​the unconscious or adding new properties that resolve any inconsistencies. In his writings, in fact, he is confronted with data that seem to undermine his theory, and in fact he finds the resources to resolve these anomalies by delving into the mysterious world of the unconscious..