Collective unconscious Essay

Carl Jung was born in Kesswyl, Thurgau, Switzerland on July 26, 1875. His father was kind but weak, while his mother was an insecure woman but with two personalities: (a) kind and loving (b) harsh and aloof. Jung was lonely at childhood making him introvert. In 1906 he published The Psychology of Dementia Praecox, a psychoanalytic treatment of schizophrenia. He first met Freud in 1907 and Freud regarded Jung as his son and they travelled and worked together that lasted until 1913. Freud and Jung had an argument that ended their friendship. Freud considered it as the â€Å"Great Loss†. Jung is the first president of International Psychoanalytic Society. Jung established his own school of psychology named â€Å"Analytical Psychology†. Jung begun the structure of personality and made the ego, personal unconscious and the collective unconscious. Dynamics of Personality Carl Jung conceived that the personality or psyche as being a partially closed energy system. Energy from the outside sources must be added into the system and the system will only be perfect and stabilized if it is completely closed. He called psychic energy as the energy by which the work of personality is performed. Psyche – refers to all psychological processes: thoughts, feelings, sensations, wishes, etc. It is also another term for personality. Principle of Equivalence – states that if a particular value weakens the sum of the energy represented by the value will not be lost from the psyche but will reappear in a new value. Principle of Entropy – states that the distribution of energy in the psyche seeks equilibrium and balance. Structure of Personality. 1. Ego – it is one’s conscious mind. It serves as the organized conscious mediator between the person and reality especially by functioning both in the perception of and adaptation to reality. 2. Personal unconscious – the material in the personal unconscious comes from the individual’s past. It consist f experiences that was once conscious but have been repressed. 3. Collective unconscious – is the part of the collective psyche that is unconscious. It is the storehouse of latent memory traces inherited from one’s ancestral past. Archetypes – it is the universal thought form or predisposition to respond to the world in a certain way. It emphasizes potentialities; it represents different potential ways in which we may express our humanities. The Self – it represents the unity of all parts of the personality. It is the central archetype. Self Ultimate unity of personality (the central archetype) Persona Mask or Social Role Shadow Animal instincts or the opposite of Persona Anima Feminine side of male psyche Animus Masculine side of the female psyche. The Persona – refers to the social role that one assumes in society. It is a mask that one wears to adjust to the demands of society. The Shadow – encompasses those unsocial thoughts, feelings and behaviours that we potentially posses and other characteristics that we do not want to accept. The Anima – feminine side of the male psyche. The Animus – masculine side of the female psyche. Word association – a test used by Jung to detect complexes. The test is composed of a list of words; as each word is presented, the patient responds with the first word that comes to his or her mind. Complexes – an organized group of thoughts, feelings and memories about a particular concept that has power to draw new ideas into it and interpret them accordingly. Basic Attitudes Extroverted attitude: a standpoint characterized by an outward flowing of personal energy — an interest in events, in people and things, a relationship with them, and a dependence on them. Introverted attitude: characterized by an inward flowing of personal energy—a withdrawal concentrating on subjective factors. The Four Functions Thinking – gives meaning and understanding; actions are a result of an intellectually considered motive; life is based on principles. Feeling – a rational function that weighs, values, and attaches a proper value to things. Truth is seen as inter-subjectivity. Sensation – emphasis on perception through the senses. It is a reality functions because it yields facts and the representations of the world. Intuition – tells of future possibilities and gives information of the atmosphere which surrounds experience. Causality vs. Teleology For Jung both past and the future standpoints are important in determining the present behaviour. Teleology explains the present in terms of the future while causality explains the present in terms of the past. Individuation – process of restoring wholeness to the psyche in adult development. Transcendence Function – is capacity to unite all of the opposing trends of the several systems to work toward the perfect wholeness. Self realization – is process of development that involves individuation and transcendence. In the process, the systems of the psyche achieve their fullest most complete differentiation and harmonious blending of all aspects of a human’s total personality. Strengths Jung’s theory as the first to discuss the process of self actualization. He was the first to emphasize the importance of the future in determining human behaviour. He stressed the attainment of selfhood as the main motive in human behaviour. Weaknesses Jung’s method was not systematic and puts too much emphasis on occultism, spiritualism and religion. His theory was said to be unscientific, unclear, inconsistent and contradictory. His self actualization is only applicable to the highly intelligent, well educated and those who have plenty of time to reach a degree of individualism. Sources: Engler, B. (2006). Personality Theories: An Introduction. USA: Houghton Mifflin Company. Hall, C. , Gardner, L. (1975). Theories of Personality. USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Burger, J. (2008). Personality. Belmont, California, Wadsworth Clonniger, S. (2004). Theories of Personality: Understanding Persons. USA: Pearson Prentice Hall Mitchell, G. Carl Jung & Jungian Analytical Psychology. Retrieved from http://www. trans4mind. com/mind-development/jung. htmlÃ'Ž