The trickster: Reynald the Fox
by Michael Rodange; Wikimedia Commons
Carl G. Jung:
Archetypes and
The Collective Unconscious
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychologist, influential thinker, and founder of analytical psychology.
Jung's unique approach to psychology was influential in countercultural movements in Europe and the United States in the 1960s. He has emphasized understanding the psyche through exploring the worlds of dreams, art, mythology, world religion and philosophy. Although he was a theoretical psychologist and practicing clinician, much of his life's work was spent exploring other realms, including Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, as well as literature and the arts. His most notable ideas include the concept of the Jungian archetype, the collective unconscious, and his theory of synchronicity.
Jung emphasized the importance of balance and harmony. He cautioned that modern humans rely too heavily on science and logic and would benefit from integrating spirituality and appreciation of the unconscious realm. Integrating the opposites, the conscious and the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy, is necessary for a person to become whole. Many psychological concepts were first introduced by Jung. Among these, the archetype and the collective unconscious are particularly notable.
The archetype (cf. Wikipedia) is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior – a prototype upon which others are developed. In psychology, an archetype is a model of a person, personality, or behavior. In philosophy, archetypes have since Plato referred to ideal forms of the perceived or sensible objects or types. In the analysis of personality, the term archetype often refers to:
1. A stereotype – a personality observed many times, and simplified when described.
2. An epitome – a personality type exemplified, especially the “greatest” such example.
Archetypes have been present in folklore and literature for thousands of years, including prehistoric artwork. Jung’s use of archetypes to illuminate personality and literature was based on his assumption of the existence of innate, universal forms of ideas that channel experiences and emotions, resulting in recognizable and typical patterns of behavior with certain probable outcomes. Archetypes are to him important in both ancient mythology and modern narratives. A group of memories and interpretations associated with an archetype is termed a complex.
Jung outlined five main archetypes:
1. The Self, the regulating center of the psyche and facilitator of individuation.
2. The Shadow, the opposite of the ego image, often containing qualities with which the ego does not identify, but which it possesses nonetheless.
3. The Anima, the feminine image in a man’s psyche, or
4. The Animus, the masculine image in a woman’s psyche.
5. The Persona, the image we present to the world, usually protecting the Ego from negative images (like a mask), and considered another of the “sub-personalities” (the complexes).
Archetypes can take on innumerable forms, as can be seen if you go into the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism. On their website you will find more than 17000 images illustrating how archetypes have shown up in art and history of mankind. There are a few particularly notable, recurring archetypal images (cf. Wikipedia): Child, Hero, Great Mother, Wise Old Man / Woman, Damsel in distress, Trickster/Fox, Devil/Satan, Scarecrow, Mentor, and Rebirth. Jung also outlined what he called archetypes of transformation, which are situations, places, ways and means that symbolize the transformation in question.
When introducing the notion of collective unconscious, Jung used the following words: “My thesis then, is as follows: in addition to our immediate consciousness, which is of a thoroughly personal nature and which we believe to be the only empirical psyche (even if we tack on the personal unconscious as an appendix), there exists a second psychic system of a collective, universal, and impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals. This collective unconscious does not develop individually, but is inherited. It consists of pre-existent forms, the archetypes, which can only become conscious secondarily and which give definite forms to certain psychic contents.”
Jung linked the collective unconscious to what Freud called “archaic remnants”, mental forms whose presence cannot be explained by anything in the individual’s own life and which seem to be aboriginal, innate, and inherited shapes of the human mind.
You can find out more about Jung here.
Jung's unique approach to psychology was influential in countercultural movements in Europe and the United States in the 1960s. He has emphasized understanding the psyche through exploring the worlds of dreams, art, mythology, world religion and philosophy. Although he was a theoretical psychologist and practicing clinician, much of his life's work was spent exploring other realms, including Eastern and Western philosophy, alchemy, astrology, sociology, as well as literature and the arts. His most notable ideas include the concept of the Jungian archetype, the collective unconscious, and his theory of synchronicity.
Jung emphasized the importance of balance and harmony. He cautioned that modern humans rely too heavily on science and logic and would benefit from integrating spirituality and appreciation of the unconscious realm. Integrating the opposites, the conscious and the unconscious, while still maintaining their relative autonomy, is necessary for a person to become whole. Many psychological concepts were first introduced by Jung. Among these, the archetype and the collective unconscious are particularly notable.
The archetype (cf. Wikipedia) is a universally understood symbol or term or pattern of behavior – a prototype upon which others are developed. In psychology, an archetype is a model of a person, personality, or behavior. In philosophy, archetypes have since Plato referred to ideal forms of the perceived or sensible objects or types. In the analysis of personality, the term archetype often refers to:
1. A stereotype – a personality observed many times, and simplified when described.
2. An epitome – a personality type exemplified, especially the “greatest” such example.
Archetypes have been present in folklore and literature for thousands of years, including prehistoric artwork. Jung’s use of archetypes to illuminate personality and literature was based on his assumption of the existence of innate, universal forms of ideas that channel experiences and emotions, resulting in recognizable and typical patterns of behavior with certain probable outcomes. Archetypes are to him important in both ancient mythology and modern narratives. A group of memories and interpretations associated with an archetype is termed a complex.
Jung outlined five main archetypes:
1. The Self, the regulating center of the psyche and facilitator of individuation.
2. The Shadow, the opposite of the ego image, often containing qualities with which the ego does not identify, but which it possesses nonetheless.
3. The Anima, the feminine image in a man’s psyche, or
4. The Animus, the masculine image in a woman’s psyche.
5. The Persona, the image we present to the world, usually protecting the Ego from negative images (like a mask), and considered another of the “sub-personalities” (the complexes).
Archetypes can take on innumerable forms, as can be seen if you go into the Archive for Research in Archetypal Symbolism. On their website you will find more than 17000 images illustrating how archetypes have shown up in art and history of mankind. There are a few particularly notable, recurring archetypal images (cf. Wikipedia): Child, Hero, Great Mother, Wise Old Man / Woman, Damsel in distress, Trickster/Fox, Devil/Satan, Scarecrow, Mentor, and Rebirth. Jung also outlined what he called archetypes of transformation, which are situations, places, ways and means that symbolize the transformation in question.
When introducing the notion of collective unconscious, Jung used the following words: “My thesis then, is as follows: in addition to our immediate consciousness, which is of a thoroughly personal nature and which we believe to be the only empirical psyche (even if we tack on the personal unconscious as an appendix), there exists a second psychic system of a collective, universal, and impersonal nature which is identical in all individuals. This collective unconscious does not develop individually, but is inherited. It consists of pre-existent forms, the archetypes, which can only become conscious secondarily and which give definite forms to certain psychic contents.”
Jung linked the collective unconscious to what Freud called “archaic remnants”, mental forms whose presence cannot be explained by anything in the individual’s own life and which seem to be aboriginal, innate, and inherited shapes of the human mind.
You can find out more about Jung here.