Archetypal Explorations: An Integrative Approach to Human Behavior

248 Pages·1996·1.73 MB·English

by  Richard M. Gray

Archetypal Explorations
Archetypal Explorations is a ground-breaking study, which examines one of Jung’s most important theories
and the link it forms between analytical psychology and the social sciences. Richard M.Gray uses the
concept of archetypes as a basis for understanding the reciprocal interaction of individuals and cultures as
coevolving systems. In a systematized approach to the subject he reveals the implicitly cross-cultural and
interdisciplinary nature of Jung’s work.
Despite the depth of the Jungian contribution to understanding social phenomena, little has been done to
apply it to sociology. Beginning with a re-examination of the literature of archetypes, the author makes
enlightening comparisons between Jung’s words and the formulations of the century’s prominent
sociologists. Elements of modern biology and systems theory are introduced to achieve a clearer and non-
reductionist definition of archetypes. Basic terms are defined and particular attention is paid to patterns of
archetypal activity, the role of instinct and libido and the significance of mandala images. The author
establishes the fundamental issues that a reformulated sociology must address and in the final part develops
the sociological themes which emerge from detailed analysis of the Collected Works.
Archetypal Explorations is a full assessment of Jung’s statements on social theory. A significant addition
to the literature of archetypes, it will appeal to psychologists, sociologists and all those interested in an
integrative outlook on human behavior.
Richard M.Gray is a Senior United States Probation Officer, specializing in drug treatment in Brooklyn,
New York, and a Lecturer in Sociology at Brookdale Community College, Lincroft, New Jersey.
Archetypal Explorations
An integrative approach to human behavior
Richard M.Gray
London and New York
First published 1996
by Routledge
11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE
This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2005.
“To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to
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Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001
Routledge is an International Thomson Publishing company
© 1996 Richard M.Gray
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted
or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the
British Library
Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data
Gray, Richard M.
Archetypal explorations: towards an archetypal sociology/
Richard M.Gray.
p. cm.
Revision of the author’s thesis (doctoral)—Union Institute,
Cincinnati, Ohio, 1993.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Archetype (Psychology) 2. Archetype (Psychology)—Social
aspects. 3. Jung, C.G. (Carl Gustav), 1875–1961. 4. Social
sciences and psychoanalysis. I. Title.
BF175.5.A72G73 1996 95–37516
155.2′64—dc20
ISBN 0-203-36014-1 Master e-book ISBN
ISBN 0-203-37270-0 (Adobe eReader Format)
ISBN 0-415-12116-7 (Print Edition)
0-415-12117-5 (pbk)
Contents
List of illustrations vi
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
Part I Archetypal explorations
1 The nature of the archetype 8
2 The archetypal dimensions 24
3 The emergence of new properties 33
4 Archetypes and images 38
Part II The archetypal sequence
5 The archetypal set 52
6 The archetypes and their images 66
Part III Sociological considerations
7 The sociological prospect 94
8 The paradigms 100
Part IV The elements of an archetypal sociology
9 The roots of intersubjectivity 122
10 The nature of groups 134
11 Families, nations and thought 138
12 The structure of large groups 151
13 Archetypal patterns in large groups 176
14 The problem of deviance 191
Part V Retrospect: analysis, conclusions
v
15 Review 196
16 Retrospect: Jung and sociology 207
17 Prospects: further research 213
Notes 219
References 225
Index 231
Illustrations
FIGURES
Figure 1.1 The spectrum of psychic activity 10
Figure 1.2 The poles of biological activity 23
Figure 2.1 The spatial octahedron 28
Figure 2.2 The ouroboros 29
Figure 5.1 Four levels of archetypal complexity 55
Figure 5.2 Primary elements of the Jungian psyche 55
Figure 6.1 The trefoil and the triple ring 88
Figure 12.1 The fundamental roles of society and their corresponding traditions 158
Figure 17.1 The fractal octahedron 215
TABLES
Table 5.1 Archetypal affects 59
Table 6.1 Some Greek gods and their attributes 81
Table 6.2 Attributes of the Greek Pantheon according to Bolen 84
Table 6.3 The Greek gods as rulers of the zodiac and the primitive elements 90
Table 12.1 Archetypal figures from Mitroff and Moxnes 155
Table 12.2 The fundamental roles of society translated into four disciplines 158
Acknowledgments
Like most books, this work reflects contributions and inspirations from many people. My first and most
important debt is to God, whose mercy and long-suffering have placed me in a position to undertake such a
task. In the final analysis the inspiration and energy for the undertaking come from Him.
Much of the style of the book is a reflection of study habits learned from my parents who inspired my
brothers and me with their great love of learning. I recall especially my father’s pride over his preceptor’s
instruction to “exhaust the law” as he prepared a case. To him, that meant seeking out the source of every
principle of law down to their roots in the Common Law. It was an example that I learned early and that has
served me well.
The text as it now stands is a revision of my doctoral dissertation, originally presented at the Union
Institute, Cincinnati, Ohio in 1993. The subject matter has been of particular interest to me for many years.
At Union, it was Doug Davidson who convinced me to pursue it. I owe him a debt of gratitude for helping
me along the way. My faculty advisor and friend, Bob McAndrews was a great help and a constant
inspiration. It was he who introduced me to general systems theory and shared my excitement over the
progress of the work as he guided me through the maze of regulations at the school. My friends and peers,
Jim and Cathy Elliot and Sarah Tyler MacPherson, were great sources of encouragement and strong allies
through the process. Their words of inspiration and early edits of the text were invaluable. More
profoundly, however, my special thanks go to Ira Progoff and Betsy Landau for their careful guidance and
deep care, not only for the work, but for me as an individual.
When I originally approached Ira Progoff for his assistance, I knew little, except that he was one of the
few Jung scholars who had looked at the social implications of analytical psychology. In fact, his doctoral
dissertation, published as Jung’s Psychology and its Social Meaning, was a major influence in choosing the
topic of this book. Expecting a scholar, I found a deeply caring and personally involved friend. It is with
some pride that I see the current work as a continuation in the spirit of his work.
Betsy Landau, a psychologist in private practice, was my constant confidant and worked to keep me on
focus. Her balanced analyses kept me mindful of the wider audiences to whom the material might be of
interest and helped in the crucial task of setting and keeping limits as the work proceeded. Her continuing
friendship is a special treasure.
Among those who labored with me in editing the text, my good friend Florence Tomasulo has been an
exceptional help with the final version. Her care for detail and her sensitivity to nuances of meaning and
grammar have been irreplaceable.
There are others who stood by me and assisted me in one way or another. My thanks to Steve Rackmill who
provided space when I really needed it. Thanks to Ed Willis at Central, and Dan Gilmore, Dave Wilson and
Peter Sissons, wherever they are, for the foundations they laid and the continuing inspiration that they have
viii
provided. Thanks to Ken Aldritch and the family at Trinity, and to Sister Wood and my other church family
at Union Beach for their encouragement and prayers.
Last but not least, I give special thanks to and for my wife, Kim, and our three children, Rick, Mike, and
Rachel. Together, they endured my continuing sojourn in the basement with humor, grace and love. Their
love and sacrifice of time and energy, their good spirit and encouragement, has made me appreciative of
just how fortunate I am to have them in my life.
My thanks also to the following publishers who have granted permission to quote from the works
indicated.
Princeton University Press and Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd, for the use of material from the Collected
Works of C.G.Jung, edited by G.Adler, M.Fordham and H.Read, and translated by R.F.C.Hull, as follows:
Vol. VI, Psychological Types, copyright © 1971 by Princeton University Press; Vol. VII, Two Essays on
Analytical Psychology, copyright © 1953 and 1966 by Princeton University Press; Vol. V, Symbols of
Transformation, copyright © 1956 and 1967 by Princeton University Press; Vol. IX (i), The Archetypes of
the Collective Unconscious, copyright © 1959 and 1968 by Princeton University Press; Vol. IX (ii), Aion:
Researches into the Phenomenology of the Self, copyright © 1959 and 1968 by Princeton University Press;
Vol. X, Civilization in Transition, copyright © 1964 and 1970 by Princeton University Press.
Princeton University Press is again acknowledged for permission to quote from Neumann, Erich, Art and
the Creative Unconscious, translated by Ralph Mannheim, copyright © 1959 and 1974 by Princeton
University Press.
Thanks to the University of California Press for permission to quote from Weber, Max, Economy and
Society, 2 vols, edited by Guenther Roth and Klaus Wittich, copyright © 1968 and 1978 by the Regents of
the University of California.
Quotes from The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism by Max Weber are reprinted with the
permission of Simon & Schuster Inc., from the Macmillan College text The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit
of Capitalism by Max Weber, translated by Talcott Parsons, copyright © 1958 by Charles Scribner’s Sons.
Quotes from The Rules of the Sociological Method by Emile Durkheim are reprinted with the permission
of The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc., from The Rules of the Sociological Method by
Emile Durkheim, translated by Sarah A.Solovay and John H.Mueller, and edited by George E.G.Catlin,
copyright © 1938 by George E.G.Catlin; copyright renewed 1964 by S.A.Solovay, J.G.Mueller, and G.E.G.
Catlin.
Quotations from Depth Psychology and a New Ethic, by Erich Neumann, copyright © 1990, reprinted by
arrangement with Shambhala Publications Inc., 300 Massachusetts Avenue, Boston, MA. 02115.
Quotes from Hamlet’s Mill by Georgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend are reprinted by
permission of David R.Godine, Publisher, Inc., copyright © 1969 by Georgio de Santillana and H.von
Dechend.
Quotes from George Ritzer, Sociology: A Multiple Paradigm Science, copyright © 1980 by Allyn and
Bacon, are reprinted by permission.
Quotes from The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn, copyright © 1969 by the
University of Chicago, are reprinted by permission.
Introduction
Jung observed that whenever humankind looks into the void, he/she projects there the structure of their own
psyche. The more formless the void, the more fearful or abstract the image. In this observation was an
implicit warning. There is a level at which we cannot with definite assurance differentiate between projected
patterns and the reality about us, but must always be ready to withdraw the projected image in order to
replace it with a better one.
James Hillman notes:
Fantasy especially intervenes where exact knowledge is lacking; and when fantasy does intervene, it
becomes especially difficult to gain exact knowledge. Thus, a vicious circle forms, and the mythical
usurps theory-forming; furthermore, the mythic is given fantastic witness in observation. Seeing is
believing, but believing is seeing. We see what we believe and prove our beliefs with what we see.
(Hillman, 1972, p. 220)
Lawrence Blair (1991) recounts the story of how the indigenous people of Tierra del Fuego were unable to
see Magellan’s ships when he first visited their land. The natives’ visual repertoire apparently had no tools
with which to apprehend the explorer’s fleet.
Modern physics has underscored the problem by acknowledging the observer variable in his/her efforts to
measure location and velocity in the behavior of subatomic phenomena. As soon as we measure one
dimension, the other becomes inaccessible. Indeed, from some experiments it would almost seem that the
decision to measure one determines the impossibility of measuring the other. Is it a wave, or is it a particle?
Is it here, or does it possess this amplitude?
The same problem applies in psychology. The minute we seem to have identified some basic facet of
human nature, we are made aware of a new dimension of ourselves, and the reality is then revealed as only
a new projection against which we must question our finding. Should we then analyze that projection,
understand its root in the deepest levels of the psyche and eliminate it from our observations, we may then
again face the external reality we originally sought to map, measure and understand. With every new
discovery, however, we awaken one day to discover the same pattern in our own depths. The ouroboros, the
snake that swallows its own tail, is a fitting symbol for our inquiry.1
It would be very nice to be able to say that what follows is the truth. Unfortunately, it is not. It is only a
version of the truth based upon the state of the observer and the nature of the instrument. It is one of many
possible maps of many possible territories.
It would appear that the contingencies that have placed humankind and every other creature on the planet
have so arranged things as to fit the observer and the observable into a reciprocal relationship so that the
things perceived are exactly those needed to ensure the survival of the individuals involved. Whether by a