We interpret the world through the stories around us, the dreams we have and the way we discuss them with the people around us. However there are certain recurring themes, images and motifs that appear to be universal. A lot of these concepts were first defined by the psychiatrist Jung and Jungian or Jung symbols are still often referred to today.
The idea of the collective conscious is that there are certain concepts that appear to be universal and transcend boundaries and cultures. For example pretty much all cultures around the world have some form of story about the origin of the world as well as prophecies about how the world will end. In a lot of these stories there tend to be familiar images such as floods.
What Jung noticed is that a lot of people seemed to see the same kind of images recur over and over. For example in most cultures fear can be personified in the form of a scarecrow and a lot of cultures recognise the fox as a symbol of cunning. It is these symbols that help people make sense of the world.
A classic example is the trickster. In fairy tales, folk legends and modern movies we see numerous variations on this archetypal character. In some cases the trickster might be a good character such as Brer Rabbit. In other cases this character is evil such as the fox that corrupts Pinnochio. However such is the nature of the trickster that in the story the character may be more ambiguous such as Willy Wonka. While he may turn out to be good in the end there is a certain mischief and malevolence that he seems to revel in.
This philosophy has been especially influential when it comes to story telling. The story analyst Joseph Campbell built on the philosophy of Jung in his work The Hero of A Thousand Faces and this in turn would go on to influence storywriters in literature, stage and screen.
While Jung did acknowledge that these symbols often represented repressed desires he felt they may not necessarily be bad things. He felt that this was more to do with having a psyche balanced by both male and female aspects and that this interpretation was not necessarily purely about sex or indulgence.
What he argued is that these symbols were more ways in which people made sense of the world around them and their personal journey. Therefore it is perhaps not surprising that certain themes and motifs would repeat themselves. A good example of this is superheroes. These characters combine the idea of asserting your identity with the desire for power, flight and so forth that all seem to be appealing fantasies for people around the world.
In short the archetypes and symbols that Jung describe are an effective way to help people interpret themselves and the world around them. Our mentors help guide us, we learn to avoid tricksters and we come to accept both the light and dark in our personalities. Look online for more information of Jung and Jungian symbol interpretation.
The idea of the collective conscious is that there are certain concepts that appear to be universal and transcend boundaries and cultures. For example pretty much all cultures around the world have some form of story about the origin of the world as well as prophecies about how the world will end. In a lot of these stories there tend to be familiar images such as floods.
What Jung noticed is that a lot of people seemed to see the same kind of images recur over and over. For example in most cultures fear can be personified in the form of a scarecrow and a lot of cultures recognise the fox as a symbol of cunning. It is these symbols that help people make sense of the world.
A classic example is the trickster. In fairy tales, folk legends and modern movies we see numerous variations on this archetypal character. In some cases the trickster might be a good character such as Brer Rabbit. In other cases this character is evil such as the fox that corrupts Pinnochio. However such is the nature of the trickster that in the story the character may be more ambiguous such as Willy Wonka. While he may turn out to be good in the end there is a certain mischief and malevolence that he seems to revel in.
This philosophy has been especially influential when it comes to story telling. The story analyst Joseph Campbell built on the philosophy of Jung in his work The Hero of A Thousand Faces and this in turn would go on to influence storywriters in literature, stage and screen.
While Jung did acknowledge that these symbols often represented repressed desires he felt they may not necessarily be bad things. He felt that this was more to do with having a psyche balanced by both male and female aspects and that this interpretation was not necessarily purely about sex or indulgence.
What he argued is that these symbols were more ways in which people made sense of the world around them and their personal journey. Therefore it is perhaps not surprising that certain themes and motifs would repeat themselves. A good example of this is superheroes. These characters combine the idea of asserting your identity with the desire for power, flight and so forth that all seem to be appealing fantasies for people around the world.
In short the archetypes and symbols that Jung describe are an effective way to help people interpret themselves and the world around them. Our mentors help guide us, we learn to avoid tricksters and we come to accept both the light and dark in our personalities. Look online for more information of Jung and Jungian symbol interpretation.
