Jung was a psychiatrist. He was a contemporary of Freud. However while he built on the theories of Freud a lot of his conclusions were a very different. One concept he was particularly interested in was what is known as the collective unconscious and what we now know as Jungian or Jung symbols.
A good example is mythology. In a lot of major mythologies and religions there are certain stories that recur. A lot of them will look at how the world was first created or they foretell the end of the world. In these stories recurring images such as floods or fire will appear in order to symbolise the end of one order and the beginning of another.
Jung was a psychiatrist working around the same time as Freud. In both cases they looked at the idea of the subconscious as well as how and why people repress memories. Where they differed was the how and why regarding this repression. While Freud mainly focused on deviant behaviour and sexuality the Jungian approach is arguably more complex. His theory was that the shadow side of a personality was not necessarily evil and rather was more another aspect of the psyche as opposed to something that needed to be dealt with or exposed.
This is why even though a lot of folk or fairy tales may have different characters or be written different languages they often follow a certain structure. At the centre of the story is a hero and this hero is often a representation of the self. Other archetypes such as the wise mentor, the corrupting trickster and so forth symbolise the path people go on.
A lot of these recurring symbols help people to make sense of the world. One reason that fairy and folk tales are handed down through the ages is because they teach children right and wrong, helping them to be aware of the potential danger around them without putting them under any real threat.
For example one symbolic figure that often recurs is the idea of the wise old man or the mentor. In any story this figure is the one that provides guidance for a hero. In effect this is the equivalent of a teacher or parent guiding the child and providing them with some kind of moral framework.
What he argued is that these symbols were more ways in which people made sense of the world around them and their personal journey. Therefore it is perhaps not surprising that certain themes and motifs would repeat themselves. A good example of this is superheroes. These characters combine the idea of asserting your identity with the desire for power, flight and so forth that all seem to be appealing fantasies for people around the world.
There are a wide array of symbols and archetypes. You can find a list of them online. They are useful for interpreting dreams or as an additional frame of reference while watching a television show or film, providing a deeper interpretation of what on the surface may seem superficial. And ultimately that would be the core aspect of the Jungian perspective. In effect Jung argued that there was more to our symbols than meets the eye!
A good example is mythology. In a lot of major mythologies and religions there are certain stories that recur. A lot of them will look at how the world was first created or they foretell the end of the world. In these stories recurring images such as floods or fire will appear in order to symbolise the end of one order and the beginning of another.
Jung was a psychiatrist working around the same time as Freud. In both cases they looked at the idea of the subconscious as well as how and why people repress memories. Where they differed was the how and why regarding this repression. While Freud mainly focused on deviant behaviour and sexuality the Jungian approach is arguably more complex. His theory was that the shadow side of a personality was not necessarily evil and rather was more another aspect of the psyche as opposed to something that needed to be dealt with or exposed.
This is why even though a lot of folk or fairy tales may have different characters or be written different languages they often follow a certain structure. At the centre of the story is a hero and this hero is often a representation of the self. Other archetypes such as the wise mentor, the corrupting trickster and so forth symbolise the path people go on.
A lot of these recurring symbols help people to make sense of the world. One reason that fairy and folk tales are handed down through the ages is because they teach children right and wrong, helping them to be aware of the potential danger around them without putting them under any real threat.
For example one symbolic figure that often recurs is the idea of the wise old man or the mentor. In any story this figure is the one that provides guidance for a hero. In effect this is the equivalent of a teacher or parent guiding the child and providing them with some kind of moral framework.
What he argued is that these symbols were more ways in which people made sense of the world around them and their personal journey. Therefore it is perhaps not surprising that certain themes and motifs would repeat themselves. A good example of this is superheroes. These characters combine the idea of asserting your identity with the desire for power, flight and so forth that all seem to be appealing fantasies for people around the world.
There are a wide array of symbols and archetypes. You can find a list of them online. They are useful for interpreting dreams or as an additional frame of reference while watching a television show or film, providing a deeper interpretation of what on the surface may seem superficial. And ultimately that would be the core aspect of the Jungian perspective. In effect Jung argued that there was more to our symbols than meets the eye!
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