The unconscious occurs during the process of growth. In contrast to Freud, who believed that the unconscious is acquired, Jung believed that “something” common to all human beings is imparted even before birth, and that there exists the collective unconscious that is different from the individual unconscious acquired after birth.
Freud’s ideas are easier to understand, depending on one’s point of view. Jung may be looking into a world beyond that which modern science has not been able to elucidate.
However, if we stay here, Jung’s ideas might have been disregarded as fiction. What makes Jung a giant of psychology is his ability to dissolve the barrier between reality and spirituality by naming the “something” as “archetype” and describing it in detail, thereby convincing us that “the universal unconscious may exist…. It is in the ability to do so.
In Freud and Jung (Dai-san-bunmeisha/1989), Hayao Kawai, in an attempt to make us understand this incomprehensibility, explains it as follows.
Kawai : The original pattern itself cannot be understood. The archetype itself is not conscious, but we are aware of various archetypal images. However, if we take up these archetypal images, I think it is possible to predict a type behind them.
Kawai says that there is a pattern to the “expected archetype,” and Jung lists several types of archetypes. In a coaching session, this could be a hint to get a glimpse into the mind of the client.
| archetype | explanation |
|---|---|
| shadow | A personality that exists on the inside but is not willing to accept it, such as aggression, softness, cowardice, and vulgarity. |
| anima | The feminine element lurking in the hearts of men. |
| animus | The masculine element present in the female, the opposite of the anima. |
| persona | Masks to play social roles in the workplace and at home. |
| Great Mother (Tai-bo) | A spellbinding image with overwhelming strength. The positive aspect is “enveloping and nurturing,” but when taken negatively, it is a mother who swallows everything and brings death to it. |
| trickster | He is a rascal and an anti-moral image. He is also a negative hero, and because of his stupidity, he has the aspect of accomplishing what others have failed to do. |
| wise old man | It is a magical power and has the danger of giving the illusion of having this power (self-hypertrophy). There are different perspectives, such as the old man and the boy becoming one. |
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This article was written in Japanese and converted into English using a translation tool. We hope you will forgive us for any inadequacies.
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