Carl Jung's Collective Unconscious Theory: What It Suggests About the Mind

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsWhat Is Carl Jung’s Collective Unconscious?HistoryPurposeKey Concepts4 Major ArchetypesInterpretationOngoing Research

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

What Is Carl Jung’s Collective Unconscious?

History

Purpose

Key Concepts

4 Major Archetypes

Interpretation

Ongoing Research

According to Jung’s teachings, the collective unconscious is common to all human beings.Jung also believed that the collective unconscious is responsible for a number of deep-seated beliefs and instincts, such as spirituality, sexual behavior, andlife and death instincts.

The Unconscious Mind

Born in Switzerland in 1875, Carl Jung founded the school of analytical psychology.He is responsible for proposing and developing the psychological concepts of the collective unconscious, along withintrovertedandextrovertedpersonalities.

Jung worked withSigmund Freud, another prominent psychologist during that time. In his early studies, Jung’s work affirmed many ofFreud’s ideas. But as time went on, the two eventually split in their principles of psychology—including their thoughts about the development of the unconscious mind.

The biggest difference between their explanations of the unconscious mind is that Freud believed that it was the product of personal experiences, while Jung believed that the unconscious was inherited from the past collective experience of humanity.

What Is the Purpose of the Collective Unconscious?

Key Concepts of Cark Jung’s Collective Unconscious

Understanding Jung’s beliefs of the collective unconscious also require understanding the concepts surrounding these beliefs.

Archetypes

Jung believed that the collective unconscious is expressed through universalarchetypes. Archetypes are signs, symbols, or patterns of thinking and/or behaving that are inherited from our ancestors.

According to Jung, these mythological images or cultural symbols are not static or fixed. Instead, many different archetypes may overlap or combine at any given time. Some common archetypes that Jung proposed for explaining the unconscious mind include:

What Are Jung’s Four Major Archetypes?In his book “Four Archetypes,” Jung shared the archetypes he considered to be fundamental to a person’s psychological makeup: mother, rebirth, spirit, and trickster.

What Are Jung’s Four Major Archetypes?

In his book “Four Archetypes,” Jung shared the archetypes he considered to be fundamental to a person’s psychological makeup: mother, rebirth, spirit, and trickster.

What Is Jungian Therapy?

Complex Beliefs

Jung was convinced that the similarity and universality of world religions pointed to religion as a manifestation of the collective unconscious. Thus, deep-seated beliefs regardingspiritualityare explained as partially due to the genetically-inherited unconscious.

Similarly,morals, ethics, and concepts of fairness or right and wrong could be explained in the same way, with the collective unconscious as partially responsible.

Phobias

Jung used his theory of the collective unconscious to explain how fears and social phobias can manifest in children and adults for no apparent reason.Fear of the dark,loud sounds, bridges, orbloodmay all be rooted in this collective unconscious due to an inheritedgenetic trait.

The Genetics of Phobias

Dreams

Dreams were thought to provide key insight into the collective unconscious. Jung believed that due to the archetypes represented, specific symbols in dreams are universal. In other words, the same symbols meansimilar things to different people.

At the same time, Jung believed that dreams are highly personal and thatdream interpretationrequires knowing a great deal about the individual dreamer. Freud, on the other hand, often suggested that specific symbols represent specific unconscious thoughts.

More than just being repressed wishes, Jung felt that dreams compensate for parts of the psyche that are underdeveloped in our waking lives. This has allowed for the study of dreams as an instrument for research, diagnosis, and treatment forpsychological conditionsandphobias.

Interpretation of Carl Jung’s Collective Unconscious

Historically, there has been some debate around whether the collective unconscious requires a literal or symbolic interpretation.

In scientific circles, a literal interpretation of the collective unconscious is thought to be a pseudoscientific theory.This is because it is difficult to scientifically prove that images of mythology and other cultural symbols are inherited and present at birth.

Conversely, a symbolic interpretation of the collective unconscious is thought to have some scientific grounding because of the belief that all humans share certain behavioral dispositions.

Researchers are continuously trying to increase their understanding of the collective unconscious. For instance, a 2015 study suggests that thegut microbiomemay play a role in how the unconscious regulates behavior.If so, studies of gut microbes could be a part of the future of psychiatric research.

Another example is a 2022 study published inDigital Geography and Societythat investigates the role that the collective unconscious may play in our thoughts and behaviors while interacting onsocial mediaplatforms.Thus, Jung’s ideas continue to be assessed to better understand the collective unconscious and how it works.

Jung’s Theory of Personality and Learning Styles

11 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.Collective unconscious.Britannica.Carl Jung: Swiss psychologist.Carducci B.Carl Jung. Wiley Encylop Personal Indiv Diff: Models Theor. 2020. doi:10.1002/9781119547143.ch13Allen C.The balance of personality.Solomon MR.Consumer psychology. In:Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology. Elsevier; 2004:483-492.Jung C.Four archetypes.Garcia R.Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias.Learn Mem. 2017;24(9):462-471. doi:10.1101/lm.044115.116Roesler C.Jungian theory of dreaming and contemporary dream research — findings from the research project ‘Structural Dream Analysis’.J Analytic Psychol. 2020;65(1):44-62. doi:10.1111/1468-5922.12566Mills J.Jung as philosopher: Archetypes, the psychoid factor, and the question of the supernatural.Int J Jungian Studies. 2014;6(3):227-242. doi:10.1080/19409052.2014.921226Dinan TG, Stilling RM, Stanton C, Cryan JF.Collective unconscious: How gut microbes shape human behavior.J Psychiatr Res. 2015;63:1-9. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.02.021Dabos P.The exclusion of others on Facebook: The technological unconscious, the orientalist unconscious, and the European migrant crisis.Digital Geography Soc. 2022;3:100033. doi:10.1016/j.diggeo.2022.100033Additional ReadingCacha L, Poznanski R.Genomic instantiation of consciousness in neurons through a biophoton field theory.J Integr Neurosci. 2014;13(2):253-92. doi:10.1142/S0219635214400081Dinan T, Cryan J.The microbiome-gut-brain axis in health and disease.Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2017;46(1):77-89. doi:10.1016/j.gtc.2016.09.007Dinan T, Stilling R, Stanton C, Cryan J.Collective unconscious: how gut microbes shape human behavior.J Psychiat Res. 2015;63:1-9. doi:10.1016/j.psychires.2015.02.021Kim C.Carl Gustav Jung and Granville Stanley Hall on religious experience.J Relig Health. 2016;55(4):1246-60. doi:10.1007/s10943-016-0237-4

11 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.American Psychological Association.Collective unconscious.Britannica.Carl Jung: Swiss psychologist.Carducci B.Carl Jung. Wiley Encylop Personal Indiv Diff: Models Theor. 2020. doi:10.1002/9781119547143.ch13Allen C.The balance of personality.Solomon MR.Consumer psychology. In:Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology. Elsevier; 2004:483-492.Jung C.Four archetypes.Garcia R.Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias.Learn Mem. 2017;24(9):462-471. doi:10.1101/lm.044115.116Roesler C.Jungian theory of dreaming and contemporary dream research — findings from the research project ‘Structural Dream Analysis’.J Analytic Psychol. 2020;65(1):44-62. doi:10.1111/1468-5922.12566Mills J.Jung as philosopher: Archetypes, the psychoid factor, and the question of the supernatural.Int J Jungian Studies. 2014;6(3):227-242. doi:10.1080/19409052.2014.921226Dinan TG, Stilling RM, Stanton C, Cryan JF.Collective unconscious: How gut microbes shape human behavior.J Psychiatr Res. 2015;63:1-9. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.02.021Dabos P.The exclusion of others on Facebook: The technological unconscious, the orientalist unconscious, and the European migrant crisis.Digital Geography Soc. 2022;3:100033. doi:10.1016/j.diggeo.2022.100033Additional ReadingCacha L, Poznanski R.Genomic instantiation of consciousness in neurons through a biophoton field theory.J Integr Neurosci. 2014;13(2):253-92. doi:10.1142/S0219635214400081Dinan T, Cryan J.The microbiome-gut-brain axis in health and disease.Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2017;46(1):77-89. doi:10.1016/j.gtc.2016.09.007Dinan T, Stilling R, Stanton C, Cryan J.Collective unconscious: how gut microbes shape human behavior.J Psychiat Res. 2015;63:1-9. doi:10.1016/j.psychires.2015.02.021Kim C.Carl Gustav Jung and Granville Stanley Hall on religious experience.J Relig Health. 2016;55(4):1246-60. doi:10.1007/s10943-016-0237-4

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

American Psychological Association.Collective unconscious.Britannica.Carl Jung: Swiss psychologist.Carducci B.Carl Jung. Wiley Encylop Personal Indiv Diff: Models Theor. 2020. doi:10.1002/9781119547143.ch13Allen C.The balance of personality.Solomon MR.Consumer psychology. In:Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology. Elsevier; 2004:483-492.Jung C.Four archetypes.Garcia R.Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias.Learn Mem. 2017;24(9):462-471. doi:10.1101/lm.044115.116Roesler C.Jungian theory of dreaming and contemporary dream research — findings from the research project ‘Structural Dream Analysis’.J Analytic Psychol. 2020;65(1):44-62. doi:10.1111/1468-5922.12566Mills J.Jung as philosopher: Archetypes, the psychoid factor, and the question of the supernatural.Int J Jungian Studies. 2014;6(3):227-242. doi:10.1080/19409052.2014.921226Dinan TG, Stilling RM, Stanton C, Cryan JF.Collective unconscious: How gut microbes shape human behavior.J Psychiatr Res. 2015;63:1-9. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.02.021Dabos P.The exclusion of others on Facebook: The technological unconscious, the orientalist unconscious, and the European migrant crisis.Digital Geography Soc. 2022;3:100033. doi:10.1016/j.diggeo.2022.100033

American Psychological Association.Collective unconscious.

Britannica.Carl Jung: Swiss psychologist.

Carducci B.Carl Jung. Wiley Encylop Personal Indiv Diff: Models Theor. 2020. doi:10.1002/9781119547143.ch13

Allen C.The balance of personality.

Solomon MR.Consumer psychology. In:Encyclopedia of Applied Psychology. Elsevier; 2004:483-492.

Jung C.Four archetypes.

Garcia R.Neurobiology of fear and specific phobias.Learn Mem. 2017;24(9):462-471. doi:10.1101/lm.044115.116

Roesler C.Jungian theory of dreaming and contemporary dream research — findings from the research project ‘Structural Dream Analysis’.J Analytic Psychol. 2020;65(1):44-62. doi:10.1111/1468-5922.12566

Mills J.Jung as philosopher: Archetypes, the psychoid factor, and the question of the supernatural.Int J Jungian Studies. 2014;6(3):227-242. doi:10.1080/19409052.2014.921226

Dinan TG, Stilling RM, Stanton C, Cryan JF.Collective unconscious: How gut microbes shape human behavior.J Psychiatr Res. 2015;63:1-9. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2015.02.021

Dabos P.The exclusion of others on Facebook: The technological unconscious, the orientalist unconscious, and the European migrant crisis.Digital Geography Soc. 2022;3:100033. doi:10.1016/j.diggeo.2022.100033

Cacha L, Poznanski R.Genomic instantiation of consciousness in neurons through a biophoton field theory.J Integr Neurosci. 2014;13(2):253-92. doi:10.1142/S0219635214400081Dinan T, Cryan J.The microbiome-gut-brain axis in health and disease.Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2017;46(1):77-89. doi:10.1016/j.gtc.2016.09.007Dinan T, Stilling R, Stanton C, Cryan J.Collective unconscious: how gut microbes shape human behavior.J Psychiat Res. 2015;63:1-9. doi:10.1016/j.psychires.2015.02.021Kim C.Carl Gustav Jung and Granville Stanley Hall on religious experience.J Relig Health. 2016;55(4):1246-60. doi:10.1007/s10943-016-0237-4

Cacha L, Poznanski R.Genomic instantiation of consciousness in neurons through a biophoton field theory.J Integr Neurosci. 2014;13(2):253-92. doi:10.1142/S0219635214400081

Dinan T, Cryan J.The microbiome-gut-brain axis in health and disease.Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2017;46(1):77-89. doi:10.1016/j.gtc.2016.09.007

Dinan T, Stilling R, Stanton C, Cryan J.Collective unconscious: how gut microbes shape human behavior.J Psychiat Res. 2015;63:1-9. doi:10.1016/j.psychires.2015.02.021

Kim C.Carl Gustav Jung and Granville Stanley Hall on religious experience.J Relig Health. 2016;55(4):1246-60. doi:10.1007/s10943-016-0237-4

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