Introduction:
The concept of an archetype (arche, “original”; typos, “form”) appears in areas relating to behaviour, historical psychology, and literary analysis. An archetype can be:
a statement, pattern of behaviour, prototype, "first" form, or the main model that other statements, patterns of behaviour, and objects copy, emulate, or "merge" into. Informal synonyms frequently used for this definition include "standard example," "basic example," and the longer-form "archetypal example;" mathematical archetypes often appear as "canonical examples."
the Platonic concept of pure form is believed to embody the fundamental characteristics of a thing.
a collectively-inherited unconscious idea, a pattern of thought, image, etc., that is universally present, in individual psyches, as in Jungian psychology
a constantly-recurring symbol or motif in literature, painting, or mythology. This definition refers to the recurrence of characters or ideas sharing similar traits throughout various, seemingly unrelated cases in classic storytelling, media, etc. This usage of the term draws from both comparative anthropology and from Jungian archetypal theory.
Archetypes are also very close analogies to instincts, in that, long before any consciousness develops, it is the impersonal and inherited traits of human beings that present and motivate human behaviour. They also continue to influence feelings and behaviour even after some degree of consciousness developed later on. (Hitz et al)
JUNGIAN ARCHETYPES:
According to the APA Dictionary of psychology,
Archetypes are universal, inborn models of people, behaviours, and personalities that play a role in influencing human behaviour. Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung's theory suggested that these archetypes were archaic forms of innate human knowledge passed down from our ancestors.
In Jungian psychology, these archetypes represent universal patterns and images that are part of the collective unconscious. Jung believed that we inherit these archetypes much in the way we inherit instinctive patterns of behaviour.
Archetypal Figures
Jung acknowledged that the four main archetypes can intermingle and give rise to 12 archetypal figures (also known as archetypal images). These include:
Ruler
Creator/artist
Sage
Innocent
Explorer
Rebel
Hero
Wizard
Jester
Everyman
Lover
Caregiver
Personal vs. Collective Unconscious:
Jung was originally a follower of Sigmund Freud. The relationship eventually fractured over Jung's criticism of Freud's emphasis on sexuality during development, which led Jung to develop his own psychoanalytic approach known as analytical psychology.
While Jung agreed with Freud that the unconscious played an important role in personality and behaviour, he expanded on Freud's idea of the personal unconscious to include what Jung called the collective unconscious.
Jung believed that the human psyche was composed of three components:
The ego
The personal unconscious
The collective unconscious
According to Jung, the ego represents the conscious mind, and the personal unconscious contains memories—including those that have been suppressed.
The collective unconscious is a unique component in that Jung believed that this part of the psyche served as a form of psychological inheritance. It contained all of the knowledge and experiences that humans share as a species. (Collective Unconscious)
The Origins of Jung's Archetypes
Jung believed that archetypes come from the collective unconscious. He suggested that these models are innate, universal, unlearned, and hereditary. Archetypes organize how we experience certain things.
"All the most powerful ideas in history go back to archetypes," Jung explained in his book, "The Structure of the Psyche."
"This is particularly true of religious ideas, but the central concepts of science, philosophy, and ethics are no exception to this rule. In their present form, they are variants of archetypal ideas created by consciously applying and adapting these ideas to reality. For it is the function of consciousness, not only to recognize and assimilate the external world through the gateway of the senses but to translate into visible reality the world within us," he suggested. Jung rejected the concept of tabula rasa or the notion that the human mind is a blank slate at birth to be written on solely by experience. He believed that the human mind retains fundamental, unconscious, biological aspects of our ancestors. These "primordial images," as he initially dubbed them, serve as a basic foundation of how to be human.
The archaic and mythic characters that make up the archetypes reside with all people from all over the world, Ju ng believed. Archetypes symbolize basic human motivations, values, and personalities. Jung believed that each archetype played a role in personality, but felt that most people were dominated by one specific archetype. According to Jung, the actual way in which an archetype is expressed or realized depends upon a number of factors, including an individual's cultural influences and uniquely personal experiences.
Jung identified four major archetypes but also believed that there was no limit to the number that may exist. The existence of these archetypes cannot be observed directly but can be inferred by looking at religion, dreams, art, and literature. (Stevens)
The Persona
The persona is how we present ourselves to the world. The word "persona" is derived from a Latin word that literally means "mask." It is not a literal mask, however.
The persona represents all of the different social masks that we wear among various groups and situations. It acts to shield the ego from negative images. According to Jung, the persona may appear in dreams and take different forms.
Over the course of development, children learn that they must behave in certain ways in order to fit in with society's expectations and norms. The persona develops as a social mask to contain all of the primitive urges, impulses, and emotions that are not considered socially acceptable.
The persona archetype allows people to adapt to the world around them and fit in with the society in which they live. However, becoming too closely identified with this archetype can lead people to lose sight of their true selves.
The Shadow
The shadow is an archetype that consists of sex and life instincts. The shadow exists as part of the unconscious mind and is composed of repressed ideas, weaknesses, desires, instincts, and shortcomings.
The shadow forms out of our attempts to adapt to cultural norms and expectations. It is this archetype that contains all of the things that are unacceptable not only to society but also to one's own personal morals and values. It might include things such as envy, greed, prejudice, hate, and aggression.
Jung suggested that the shadow can appear in dreams or visions and may take a variety of forms. It might appear as a snake, a monster, a demon, a dragon, or some other dark, wild, or exotic figure.
This archetype is often described as the darker side of the psyche, representing wildness, chaos, and the unknown. These latent dispositions are present in all of us, Jung believed, although people sometimes deny this element of their own psyche and instead project it onto others.
The Anima or Animus
The anima is a feminine image in the male psyche, and the animus is a male image in the female psyche.5 The anima/animus represents the "true self" rather than the image we present to others and serves as the primary source of communication with the collective unconscious.
Jung believed that physiological changes, as well as social influences, contributed to the development of sex roles and gender identities. Jung suggested the influence of the animus and anima archetypes were also involved in this process. According to Jung, the animus represents the masculine aspect in women while the anima represents the feminine aspect in men.
These archetypal images are based upon both what is found in the collective and personal unconscious. The collective unconscious may contain notions about how women should behave while personal experience with wives, girlfriends, sisters, and mothers contribute to more personal images of women.
In many cultures, however, men and women are encouraged to adopt traditional and often rigid gender roles. Jung suggested that this discouragement of men exploring their feminine aspects and women exploring their masculine aspects served to undermine psychological development.
The combined anima and animus is known as the syzygy or the divine couple. The syzygy represents completion, unification, and wholeness.
The Self
The self is an archetype that represents the unified unconsciousness and consciousness of an individual. Jung often represented the self as a circle, square, or mandala.
Creating the self occurs through a process known as individuation, in which the various aspects of personality are integrated. Jung believed that disharmony between the unconscious and the conscious mind could lead to psychological problems. Bringing these conflicts into awareness and accommodating them in conscious awareness was an important part of the individuation process.
Jung suggested that there were two different centres of personality:
The ego makes up the centre of consciousness, but it is the self that lies at the centre of personality.
Personality encompasses not only consciousness but also the ego and the unconscious mind.
You can think of this by imagining a circle with a dot right at the centre. The entire circle makes up the self, where the small dot in the middle represents the ego. For Jung, the ultimate aim was for an individual to achieve a sense of cohesive self, similar in many ways to Maslow's concept of self-actualization.
Works Cited
Archetype. “Psychology.” APA Dictionary of Psychology, https://dictionary.apa.org/collective-unconscious. Accessed 9 May 2022.
Collective Unconscious. “Psychology.” APA Dictionary of Psychology, https://dictionary.apa.org/archetype. Accessed 9 May 2022.
Hitz, Martin, et al., editors. Human Factors in Computing and Informatics: First International Conference, SouthCHI 2013, Maribor, Slovenia, July 1-3, 2013, Proceedings. Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 2013. Accessed 9 May 2022.
Jung C. Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 8: Structure & Dynamics of the Psyche. Adler G, Hull R, eds. Princeton University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctt5hhr1w
Stevens, Anthony. Living Archetypes: The Selected Works of Anthony Stevens. Routledge, 2015. Accessed 9 May 2022.
No comments:
Post a Comment