Jung: Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious

While Freud theorized a personal unconscious that is the repository of the individual's repressed, unacceptable desires, Jung postulated a deeper layer that informs the personal unconscious and also feeds into dreams: the collective unconscious. This would be a shared wellspring for all of humanity, and the source of another Jungian concept: the archetypes. Archetypes are common symbols and motifs that appear in various forms in human myths, stories, and religions. The Mother, the Father, the Hero, the Bad Guy. Underlying the personal symbols in our dreams, Jung argues, are these older, universal symbols, connecting the individual to all of humanity.

Podcast Lecture: The Somniloquy

Readings:

Bulkeley, An Introduction to the Psychology of Dreaming: Ch. 3

Reread, if necessary, Jung's essay: "Symbols and the Interpretation of Dreams"

Questions:

1. What frequent criticisms are made against Jung's idea of the archetypes, and how does he respond to them?

2. What is the difference between a "natural" and a "cultural" symbol?

3. What are some of the common archetypes that Jung writes about? What characterizes them?

Activities:

A Junger You: Remember the dream you interpreted using Freud's method? Take a look at that dream again, and start over, using Jung's method of amplification of the symbols and themes in your dream. If you assume, as Jung does, that the dream is not hiding anything, but is simply transmitting a message, what interpretation do you now yield? Do you detect the presence of archetypes? Which interpretation, Freudian or Jungian, seems to be the best "fit" for your dream?