The archetypes according to Carl Gustav Jung

The interest with which first psychoanalysts they tried to portray the mechanisms by which the unconscious affects our way of thinking and acting. These explanations tend to focus on individuals and, in the case of Sigmund Freud's theory, they served to explain the nature of certain mental pathologies.

However, there was one researcher who strove to go far beyond the physiological functions that explain the behavior of the individual. Carl Gustav Jung it transported psychoanalysis to a plane in which the ancestral phenomena that occur at the collective level in different cultures and societies shape our way of being. And he did it through a concept called "archetype".

How did the idea originate?

Jung believed that in order to understand the unconscious, theorization of it had to be taken to a field that transcended the functions of an organism (in this case, the human body). Therefore, from Carl Jung's theory it is understood "the unconscious" that inhabits us as a composition of individual and collective aspects

. This secret part of our mind has, so to speak, a culturally inherited component, a matrix that shapes our way of perceiving and interpreting the experiences that occur to us as individuals.

Archetypes and the collective unconscious

The archetypes are the form that is given to some experiences and memories of our first ancestors, according to Jung. This It implies that we do not develop in isolation from the rest of society, but that the cultural context influences us in the most intimate way, transmitting patterns of thought and experimentation of reality that are inherited.

However, if we focus on the individual, archetypes become emotional and behavioral patterns that carve our way of processing sensations, images and perceptions as a meaningful whole. Somehow, for Jung the archetypes accumulate deep down in our collective unconscious to form a mold that gives meaning to what happens to us.

The symbols Y myths that seem to be in all known cultures are for Carl Gustav Jung a sign that all human societies think and act from a cognitive and emotional base that does not depend on each person's own experiences or their individual differences that come from birth. In this way, the very existence of the archetypes would be evidence that there is a collective unconscious that acts on individuals at the same time as the part of the unconscious that is personal.

How are the archetypes expressed?

Jung's archetypes are, in a way, recurring patterns of images and symbols that appear in different forms in all cultures and that they have a side that is inherited from generation to generation. An archetype is a piece that shapes a part of this collective unconscious that is partially inherited.

By definition, Jung says, these images are universal and they can be recognized both in cultural manifestations of different societies and in speech, people's behavior and, of course, in their dreams. This means that they can be located and isolated in all kinds of human products, since culture affects everything we do even without realizing it.

Jungian archetypes are, for certain psychoanalysts, what makes certain roles and functions appear in products of culture as different as The odyssey and the movie Matrix. Of course, the existence of archetypes goes far beyond art criticism and is usually used by some therapists to detect internal conflicts between the unconscious and the conscious part of the mind.

Are there types of archetypes?

Yes, there are certain ways to classify the different archetypes. For example, there are archetypal events such as birth or death, archetypal themes such as creation or revenge, and archetypal figures, such as the wise old man, the virgin, etc.

Some examples of archetypes

Some of the main archetypes are listed below:

1. Ánimus and Ánima

The Animus is the masculine aspect of the feminine personality, and the Anima it is the archetype of the feminine in the mind of man. Both are related to the ideas that are associated with gender roles.

2. Mother

For Jung, the archetype of Mother allows us to detect behaviors and images related to motherhood as our ancestors have been experiencing it.

3. The father

The archetype of Dad represents for Jung an authority figure who offers guidance on how to live life based on his example.

4. Person

The archetype of Person It represents the aspect of ourselves that we want to share with others, that is, our public image.

5. The shadow

Contrary to what happens with the Person, the Shadow it represents everything about ourselves that we want to remain secret, because it is morally reprehensible or because it is too intimate.

6. The hero

The Hero He is a figure of power who is characterized by fighting the Shadow, that is, he keeps everything that should not invade the social sphere at bay so that the whole is not harmed. Furthermore, the Hero is ignorant, as his determination leads him not to stop and continually reflect on the nature of what he fights.

7. The wise

His role is to reveal the collective unconscious to the Hero. Somehow, the archetype that is named after him Wise sheds light on the path of the Hero.

8. The Trickster

The archetype of Trickster, or the trickster, is the one who introduces the jokes and the violation of the pre-established norms to show to what extent the laws that explain things are vulnerable. Puts traps and paradoxes in the path of the Hero.

Bibliographic references:

• Dunne, C. (2012). Carl Jung. Pioneering psychiatrist, craftsman of the soul. Illustrated biography with fragments of his writings, letters and paintings by him. 272 pages, hardcover. Barcelona: Editorial Blume.
• Jaffé, A. (2009). Memories, dreams, thoughts. Barcelona: Seix Barral.
• Kerényi, K. (2009). The Greek heroes. Prologue Jaume Pórtulas. Translation Cristina Serna. Imaginatio Vera Collection. Vilaür: Atalanta Editions.
• Wehr, G. (1991). Carl Gustav Jung. His life, his work, her influence. Buenos Aires: Paidós Editions.