One of Carl Gustav Jung's most central and
famous concepts is that of archetypes. According to Jung archetypes can serve
as our guide in our journey into ourselves, being omnipresent and universal
mental forms. According to Jung Archetypes are raw forms found in the collective unconscious that take on meaning within a certain culture. Meaning, Jung's
archetypes are universal forms and ideas inherited through culture (therefore
the collective unconscious) in the shape that the specific culture
assigns them. According to Jung archetypes can be both positive (like "the
mother", "the father", "the magician" and more) and
negative (such as "the shadow" archetype).
Central
to Carl Jung's concept of archetypes are the notions of "anima" and
"animus". According to Jung the anima is the feminine aspect of the
male Collective Unconscious while the animus represents the masculine aspect of
the female collective unconscious. Detachment from either the anima or animus
archetypes blocks the connection to the collective unconscious and prevents one
from reaching "himself" and attaining peace of mind. Homosexuality,
for example, was infamously explained by Jung as being a (treatable) imbalance
between the anima and the animus archetypes.
Much
like anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss and his Structural study of myth,
Jung focused on oppositions as a central aspect of the human psyche and his
psychoanalytical theory. For Jung we could not understand the world if it
weren't for oppositions such as good/bad, high/low etc. however, Jung believed
that through archetypes one can attain inner balance of these contradictions.
Mental energy (Freud's libido) revolves around contradiction (like electric
energy which needs both the plus and the minus). Denying the oppositional
aspect of the mind leads according to Jung to mental complexes. The ability to
adapt to the contradictory nature of the soul is key for Jung if we are to achieve
stability and balance.
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