Hariharan Senthilkumar - Week 16: Our Collective Memories
The Greek Goddess Artemis, the Archetype of the Huntress
Image Credit: https://www.byarcadia.org/post/faces-of-a-goddess-artemis
For the last post of this year, I want to talk about a different kind of memory, a collective memory. Psychiatrist Carl Jung had a theory that human beings had a sort of ancestral memory that exists deep within our subconscious and is the reason why human cultures separated by centuries and oceans have such similar mythology and cultural practices. It is important to note that there is very little, if any, empirical evidence to support Jung's theory, but nevertheless Jungian theories are fascinating and worth thinking about in my opinion..
So, what is Jung's collective unconscious? There are a lot of psychological concepts that make up the basis of his theory, but the main idea is archetypes. Archetypes are patterns that occur again and again throughout human stories and behavior. Typically, only 12 Jungian archetypes are most commonly found in his works, but Jung says that there are an uncountable number more. His 12 main archetypes are:
The Ruler; The Artist; The Sage; The Innocent; The Explorer; The Rebel; The Hero; The Wizard; The Jester; The Everyman; The Lover; The Caregiver
Like I said before, Jung said that there are many, maybe infinite, archetypes. For example, some of the most popular archetypes we see throughout history and culture are:
The Great Mother: This motif shows up time and time again as the Earth Mother, the Mother Goddess, the Matriarch, and many other symbols throughout mythology and culture.
The Warrior Queen: another popular mythical and cultural motif, as seen by Athena, Durga, the Morrigan, etc.
Death: perhaps the most universal of the archetypes, occurs in every mythology and culture. There are countless deities and personifications of Death.
The Trickster: similar to the Jester in some ways. This is also a very popular mythological archetype, as seen by Loki, Hermes, and other sly and clever figures.
The Witch: A very common figure, and depending on the culture, the Witch can be helpful, harmful, or ambivalent. In general, the Witch is the Jungian archetype of feminine power and a symbol of transformation and hidden wisdom. Various witchy archetypes can be found throughout cultures and stories, like Hecate, Baba Yaga, Circe, etc.
I think the idea of a collective memory is fascinating, and it tells a lot about our species and our values. Even if there is no empirical proof to substantiate Jung's claims, the universality of these cultural themes is undeniable and it maybe points to some deeply embedded values within humanity.
Whatsup Hari! I absolutely love this topic and I think it's so fascinating because I never realized how true this is. You weren't kidding about how much you love mythology during your collage presentation! You clearly know your stuff! Even though you emphasized that Jung's claims don't have much proof to back them up, I personally think he is on to something. I've always wondered how so many cultures have overlapping stories and themes too! I've encountered similar situations where I explain Hindu stories and someone points out how their completely different religion has something so identical that I just have to question, "How did you know???" These personalities that you have mentioned are clear examples of universal values that are predominant in most cultures, which is important because it explains why majority of the people have similar priorities, ethics, and sense of morality. It makes me wonder whether these similarities have set up societal standards and preferences. To what extent have these simple stories defined the way we live? This is a genius blog! I love it!!
ReplyDeleteHi Hari! I’ve never heard of Carl Jung, so your blog was incredibly fascinating to me. I think the idea of a collective memory is honestly really cool, and while I don’t fully believe or understand the extent of Jung’s theories, I do agree with you that a lot of his ideas hold truth to them. I loved how you highlighted specific archetypes–like the Great Mother or the Witch–and I think that we do often see these figures either in mythology or even the modern world. Even without any evidence, I like to believe that we’re all drawn to these patterns because they represent dreams or fears for us. I also think it’s kind of comforting to think that humanity, across a vast period of time and cultures, has shared similar hopes or struggles at some point. Overall, your blog was incredibly interesting, thank you for sharing!
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ReplyDeleteI just wanted to start out by saying I loved your connections to mythology. As someone who has read all your blogs this semester it is obvious that you enjoy mythology, or at least know a lot about it, and I love how you are able to insert it into all your blogs regardless of the prompt. Showing how much something means to you is great and helps serve the main purpose of even writing these blogs in the first place, getting your classmates to learn more about you. I also enjoyed your references to psychology, as someone who just took their psychology final today, I do know who Carl Jung is and while I do not know his findings that you mentioned as in depth as you, I am still somewhat familiar with them so your blog was interesting to read! Overall, I truly enjoyed reading your blog. I also wanted to say thank you for your writing throughout the year and all your blogs have been amazing!
Hi Hari! Firstly, I have quite the interest in psychology, and Jungian psychology is no exception. I love Carl Jung’s theories for learning about the human mind and how all minds on this earth come together to form a collective memory and consciousness, which you have been covering in this blog post. I want to add to this blog post and say that regardless of the different personalities and archetypes we fall under, we all have different experiences that create a larger span of history for everyone to look back on, and this penultimate year of high school has been quite the experience for all of us. Whether we locked in on our AP classes the entire year or displayed school spirit across campus or just lazed around the entire school year (or the entirety of our time in high school), we all have made our marks on this school and have impacted each other in numerous ways. I am forever grateful that I get to contribute to this larger experience of high school with you and everyone else here in this cohort, and I look forward to cultivating more memories as we spend our last year together during our senior year. Thank you Hari for this blog post and your knowledge on Jungian psychology (arguably the most interesting “legs” of the psychological world), and I am grateful for all that you have shared with me and everyone else you have shared with!
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