Carl Jung Resources > Archetypes
What Are the Archetypes
Archetypes are innate psychological tendencies that shape the mind. In Jung's terms, archetypes are comparable to what biologists call behavioral traits. Archetypes manifest in dreams as developmental scenarios, but
they are also embedded within human culture, religion, and art. Jung discovered the archetype while analyzing a patient's dream, in which he identified a universal theme of which the patient was entirely unaware.
In his study of archetypes, Jung categorized them into several primary types that are present in all individuals:
In Jungian psychology, archetypes are the components of the collective unconscious. As we know, this concept was coined by Jung and serves as a complement to Freud's personal unconscious.
The collective unconscious - theoretically speaking - is a universal given, independent of time, cultural context, or upbringing. Archetypes, Analysis & Therapy In Jungian analytical therapy, archetypes are examined and
integrated as messages that compensate for the one-sidedness of the ego. This is part of the process of individuation which represents the culmination of analytical work in the clinical setting.
Thus, the archetype serves a therapeutic function.
Jung About Archetypes
"The archetype concept - Jung writes - derives from the often repeated observation that myths and universal literature stories contain well defined themes which appear every time and
everywhere. We often meet these themes in the fantasies, dreams, delirious ideas and illusions of persons living nowadays". Read also:
Further resources: Jungian books treating of the archetypes
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