Most people know the concept of symbolism. Images are rarely literal, especially if they are in dreams. However the type of image and how they are interpreted help people make sense of the world. This is especially the case of Jungian or Jung symbols and the fact they transcend cultures.
Jung believed in the theory of the collective unconscious. What this means is that from birth people from pretty much any culture have certain concepts that anyone could understand. You may not be able to speak the same language or may have different characters but essentially everyone will know what those symbols mean.
In this theory it is believed that these symbols were often a part of our collective understanding and that on a certain subconscious level we all recognise them. Often we recognise these particular subconscious images regardless of whether we are aware of this or not. It was on this basis that Jung developed a lot of his theories.
The idea is that there are certain culturally transcendent images known as archetypes. For example almost all cultures have some kind of myth involving a flood. A lot of religions have a story where a central figure overcomes an older order and decries its corruption before establishing a new order. While the content of the story and the characters involved may be different the essential concept appears to be unshifting and universal.
Freud was also interested in symbolism. However his theory mainly centred on the idea that these represented repressed memories and desires. Often these desires were dark and had to be confronted in order to keep people away from carrying out these darker desires. However this was not how Jung interpreted it.
One big crucial difference between how the Jungian psychologists interpreted symbols and how Freudians interpreted them is the idea of the shadow. While Freud saw this purely in terms of sexuality the Jungian interpretation is arguably more complex. There is the idea that in effect our so called darker sides are merely a part of a whole and are not necessarily good or bad. Jung essentially argued that men have a female side and women have a male side as well and there could be good or bad in both.
Another aspect of this is the anima or animus. The anima represents the male perspective on women as well as any female tendencies in a man. With the animus this is reversed and is about what a woman expects from a man as well as any male characteristics that they may have. Often these expectations are what shape how we interpret the characters in stories or the images in our dreams and this will affect how we gain meaning from the world around us, whether we are aware of it or not.
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!
Jung believed in the theory of the collective unconscious. What this means is that from birth people from pretty much any culture have certain concepts that anyone could understand. You may not be able to speak the same language or may have different characters but essentially everyone will know what those symbols mean.
In this theory it is believed that these symbols were often a part of our collective understanding and that on a certain subconscious level we all recognise them. Often we recognise these particular subconscious images regardless of whether we are aware of this or not. It was on this basis that Jung developed a lot of his theories.
The idea is that there are certain culturally transcendent images known as archetypes. For example almost all cultures have some kind of myth involving a flood. A lot of religions have a story where a central figure overcomes an older order and decries its corruption before establishing a new order. While the content of the story and the characters involved may be different the essential concept appears to be unshifting and universal.
Freud was also interested in symbolism. However his theory mainly centred on the idea that these represented repressed memories and desires. Often these desires were dark and had to be confronted in order to keep people away from carrying out these darker desires. However this was not how Jung interpreted it.
One big crucial difference between how the Jungian psychologists interpreted symbols and how Freudians interpreted them is the idea of the shadow. While Freud saw this purely in terms of sexuality the Jungian interpretation is arguably more complex. There is the idea that in effect our so called darker sides are merely a part of a whole and are not necessarily good or bad. Jung essentially argued that men have a female side and women have a male side as well and there could be good or bad in both.
Another aspect of this is the anima or animus. The anima represents the male perspective on women as well as any female tendencies in a man. With the animus this is reversed and is about what a woman expects from a man as well as any male characteristics that they may have. Often these expectations are what shape how we interpret the characters in stories or the images in our dreams and this will affect how we gain meaning from the world around us, whether we are aware of it or not.
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!
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét