The archetypes according to Carl Gustav Jung

A summary of the archetypes described by the psychologist C.G. Jung.

The interest with which early psychoanalysts tried to portray the mechanisms by which the unconscious affects our way of thinking and acting is well known. These explanations usually focus on individuals and, in the case of Sigmund Freud's theory, 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 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, his theorizing should be taken to a terrain that transcends the functions of an organism (in this case, the human body). For this reason, from Carl Jung's theory we understand "the unconscious" that dwells in us as a composition of individual and collective aspects.. This secret part of our mind has, so to speak, a culturally inherited component, a mental matrix that shapes our way of perceiving and interpreting the experiences that occur to us as individuals.

Archetypes and the collective unconscious

Archetypes are the form that is given to some experiences and memories of our early ancestors, according to Jung. This implies that we do not develop in isolation from the rest of society, but that the cultural context influences us in the most intimate part of our lives.The individual, transmitting to us inherited patterns of thought and experience of reality.

However, if we focus on the individual, archetypes become emotional and behavioral patterns, archetypes become emotional and behavioral patterns that shape the way we process that carve out our way of processing sensations, images and perceptions as a meaningful whole. In a way, for Jung, archetypes accumulate in the depths of 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 and individual differences that come from birth. Thus, the very existence of archetypes would be evidence of the existence of a collective unconscious. collective unconscious that acts on individuals at the same time as the part of the unconscious that is personal.

How are archetypes expressed?

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

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

Jungian archetypes are, for certain psychoanalysts, that which 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 often 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. animus and anima

The Ánimus is the masculine aspect of the feminine personality, and the Ánima is the archetype of the feminine in the male mind. Both are related to the ideas associated with gender roles.

2. The Mother

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

3. The Father

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

4. The Person

The archetype of the Persona represents the side of ourselves that we want to share with others, that is, our public image.

5. The Shadow

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

6. The Hero

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

7. The Sage

His role is to reveal to the Hero the collective unconscious. In a way, the archetype that goes by the name of the Sage sheds light on the Hero's path.

8. The Trickster

The archetype of the TricksterThe Trickster, or trickster, is the one who introduces pranks and the violation of pre-established rules to show how vulnerable the laws that explain things are. He puts traps and paradoxes in the path of the Hero.

Bibliographical references:

• Dunne, C. (2012). Carl Jung. Pioneering psychiatrist, craftsman of the soul. Illustrated biography with fragments of his writings, letters and paintings. 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: Ediciones Atalanta.
• Wehr, G. (1991). Carl Gustav Jung. His life, his work, his influence. Buenos Aires: Ediciones Paidós.