Carl Gustav Jung is considered one of the most influential psychoanalysts of the last century. Basing his theory on Freud’s studies of the subconscious, Carl Jung proposed improving this theory and added an important and novel concept: the collective unconscious and archetypes. Both concepts serve to understand how our mind works on an individual and social level.
Although psychoanalysis is a rarely practiced discipline today, it continues to greatly influence the way we understand psychology and subsequent psychotherapies. You want to know Carl Gustav Jung’s archetypes? Then don’t miss this Psychology-Online article, in it you will find the definition and a list with examples of the types of archetypes that this great psychologist proposed.
Carl Jung and his definition of archetypes
Carl Gustav Jung was an important psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who developed a psychoanalytic theory in which he introduced two main ideas: the collective unconscious and archetypes.
The collective unconscious
For, the unconscious can be divided into personal and collective. In both cases, Jung defines it as “all unconscious psychic contents or processes, that is, not related to the ego in a perceptible way“
However, for the Swiss psychoanalyst it was important to separate the individual processes (personal unconscious) of those ideas, instincts and natural impulses shared by a large part of society (collective unconscious)
We define the collective unconscious as the set of interpersonal elements – usually subliminal – that are shared by a set of individuals, such as culture, the idea of art, relationships with other people…
Carl Jung’s archetypes: definition
Together with the theory of the collective unconscious, Jung defines the elements that make it up as archetypes. That is to say: archetypes are the first model or shared idea of an element, act or emotion.
In order to better understand this definition of archetypeWe are going to put an example:
- According to Jung, there is an archetype of motherhood which unconsciously defines how a mother functions and what role she should adopt. Interestingly, many cultures share the same idea without having contacted never.
Furthermore, according to this psychoanalyst, an individual tends to adopt behaviors and even ways of thinking typical of certain archetypes; we can say that these influence our personality.
List of all Jung’s archetypes
Now that we know the concept of archetype, we are going to reveal to you all the archetypes of Carl Gustav Jung with list and examplesWhat archetype defines you best?:
The maternal archetype or mother
Symbolized by the unconscious image of the “Mother Earth“, this archetype represents the patient and caring attitude of mothers, Jung states that we need to grow up with someone who inspires us with that archetype in order to have correct mental health.
- Example: the feminine divinities, Eve, the virgin Mary (mother of Jesus in the Christian religion),… all of them are figures in culture that are related to the idea of a maternal, caring and powerful power.
The paternal archetype or the father
In the same way that the maternal archetype exists, we also find the unconscious father figure. This archetype is defined by being an authority figure.
- Example: in Greek mythology, Zeus (the father of the gods).
Manna or spiritual power
This archetype is somewhat more abstract: we define mana as that archetype related to power, fertility and abundance. Jung stated that this archetype could be symbolized with the phallic symbol.
The shadow
Sigmund Freud defined repressed impulses as something typical of the individual unconscious. However, Carl Gustav Jung tells us about the shadow: an archetype that includes the “dark side of the SELF”, what we consider impulsive and instinctive.
- Example: the sexual impulse, gluttony, greed…according to Jung, the shadow is usually represented in a dragon or a demon.
Person
Along with the shadow archetype, the persona is one of the most important according to the theory of the collective unconscious. We define the person as the image we give to others, the “public mask” that each individual possesses. This archetype can be observed today with the rise of social networks, for example.
Other archetypes
- The boy
- The maid
- The animal
- The wise old man
- The hero
Feminine and masculine archetypes
Two of the great archetypes that continue to be implemented in society today are the feminine and masculine archetypes.
Anima and Animus
Carl Gustav Jung defined the masculine and feminine archetypes as Anima and AnimusAnima being the archetype female within the collective unconscious of men and Animus the male archetype within the collective unconscious of women.
Anima is equivalent to the idea of femininity, bond, emotions, sensitivity and eroticism towards women. On the other hand, Animus is defined as the archetype of achievements, the world of ideas and strength. According to Jung’s theory, if we achieved a balance of both archetypes in the unconscious of both men and women, we could both benefit from the qualities of the opposite sex.
Stereotypes and gender roles
Today we continue to live under a set of gender roles understood as feminine and masculine archetypes.
These roles are observed in the media, advertising, in the education we receive… and both are marked by strong ideas that seem to be rooted in our collective unconscious.
- Feminine archetype: emotional, empathetic, patient woman, good mother and housewife, weak, dependent…
- Male archetype: strong, responsible, brave, rational, powerful man, he does not let himself be carried away by his feelings…
As we can see, these stereotypes can seriously affect people’s mental health if they see themselves as pigeonholed into these archetypes. Luckily, today, feminine and masculine archetypes are less present in our society and discriminatory attitudes are gradually decreasing.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to The archetypes of Carl Gustav Jung: list with exampleswe recommend that you enter our category.
References
- Sharp, D. (1991). CG Jung lexicon: A primer of terms & concepts.
- Jung, CG (1991): Archetypes and collective unconscious. Barcelona: Paidós.
Bibliography
- Jung, C. G. (2014). The archetypes and the collective unconscious. Routledge.