Archetype and Philosophy

Sigmund Freud

Father of modern psychology

- origin of modern psychoanalysis

- his ideas were presented during an ultraconservative victorian era (exposed relation of man's emotion to his every day environment, challenged estimation of himself)

Free association

Freud discovered it by accident

- meaning where repressed memories can become known

- says a word and uses initial response to spark therapy and ask more questions back to unpack response

- atypical responses provides a starting point

Abnormalities

- resulted from some kind of repressed unhappy occurrence

- cured in 3 steps:

1. recognition of unhappy occurrence

2. acknowledgment of the occurrence as the problem

3. purging/catharsis of guilt

- conflict between repressive conscious and dynamic untapped consciousness between will and desire

id

primal urges, instincts, the desire

- wants what it wants when it wants, doesn't care about ramifications, 1st part to develop

- the part of the personality we are born with, the demanding part

- is the unconscious

- works on pleasure principle

ego

in the middle, stops us, thinking before you speak, filter/censor, where we want to be

- mediated between environment and id

- rational part of personality

- works on reality principles, tries to obtain for the id what the id wants

- works out how to satisfy the person

- develops from about 18 months

superego

representation of everything you're supposed to do, civilization and order, what you know is socially acceptable, the will

- ideal self, the conscience -> will punish you with guilt when you know something is wrong

- develops around 4 years

- works on morality principle

- made up of: the conscience (given to individual by parents and society - wrong v right) and the ego ideal (idea people have of what they should be - given by parents and society)

- the "you can't have"

What prompts conflict between id and superego

clash between will and desire

- balance is important (don't just follow one)

What was the world against Freud for?

Pick a fight when he said the emotional unhappy occurrences are associated with sex

- they believed he meant the idea of sex with children

- ideas were coming out during realism and naturalism - talking about taboos were common

Sexual Stages

1. Narcissus

2. Oedipus/Electra

3.Homosexual

4. Heterosexual

- depending on stage, if childhood trauma occurred in one of them then you could not grow beyond that stage without doing the 3 steps

Narcissus

-birth to 2 years

- refers to greek myth

- self-involved, doesn't care about need of others

Oedipus/Electra

- 2-6 years

- prefers to spend time with parent of opposite sex

Homosexual

- 6 to adolescence (about 13)

- prefer company of parent and friends of the same sex

Heterosexual

- adolescence to adult

paranoia

extreme sense of guilt, usually of sexual nature, or extreme sense of inadequacy, feeling of needing to be punished and fear of punishment

neurosis

extreme sense of guilt characterized by inability to cope with reality

- symptoms of nervousness, fear, hallucinations

psychosis

results in harm to ones self or others

- neurosis descends into psychosis

depression

extreme sense of sadness caused by one's own feeling of inability or inadequacy

- manic depression: can be diagnosed as bipolar, final stages of depression (symptoms: listlessness, withdrawal, fear)

schizophrenia

withdrawal from reality, sense of guilt, hallucinations, fantasies, split personality falls under this

- in reality caused by chemical imbalance (Freud didn't know)

sadism

rebellion against feelings of inadequacy

- leads to enjoying cruelty towards hurting others (finds pleasure in it)

- allusion to Marquis de Sade

masochism

desire for punishment, result of inadequacy to cope with reality/guilt

Effect of Freud on literature was no greater than literature on Freud

poets and philosophers discussed unconscious, he just put a scientific method to how it can be studied

sublimation

deflection of sexual interest (libido) to a socially acceptable outlet

- allows channeling of unacceptable desires/urges into a socially acceptable activity

- serves a purpose for us as humans (hormonally and emotionally) - allows to process who we are

over compensation

excels beyond what's expected/capable/possible to overcome feelings of inadequacy

Carl Jung

- swiss psychiatrist

- shared Freud's interest in unconscious

- amplified Freud's ideas to include the collective unconscious

collective unconscious

says every person has a primal memory of past and its not just limited to personal experiences

- in our dna

Joseph Campbell

- american mythologist

- focused on comparative folklore

- believed the study of myths was the study of possibilities of the unconscious

two key people in establishing archetypes

jung and campbell

Alfred Adler

- austrian psychoanalysis

- about same time as Freud, but rejected ideas about sex

- founder of Adlerian psychology/individual psychology

- developed idea of over compensation (sense of inadequacy can develop into inferiority complex which can lead to overcompensation)

-multifaceted (has to have problem behind it)

inferiority complex

extreme sense of inadequacy, symptoms of withdrawal, shyness, isolation

Otto Rank

- austrian psychoanalyst

- agreed with Freud except for finding significance in trauma of birth

trauma of birth

- being born is such a shock and physical trauma -> becomes repressed and later a source of anxiety (because you're forced to accept it)

Literary Criticism

The study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature

archetypal/mythological criticism

archetypes define the form and function of literary works

- meaning is shaped by cultural and psychological myths

biographical criticism

knowledge of the author's life experiences can aid in the understanding of his or her work

- learn about the author

Feminist/Gender Criticism

relationships between genders

- examines text within a "patriarchal" society- to see patterns of thought, behavior, values, social expectations, enfranchisement, marginalization, and power between gender

Formalist Criticism

focuses on the formal elements of a work, such as its language, structure, and tone

- traditional criticism

Historical Criticism

understand text through social, cultural, and intellectual context

- key goal is to understand effect of text on original audience

Marxist/Sociological Criticism

examines in a cultural, economical, and political context of when it was written

- relationship between artist and society

- looks at societal elements

- one type focuses on economic/political elements of art

Post-Colonial Criticism

focuses on the study of cultural behavior and expression in relationship to the colonized world

- texts produced by colonial powers and those who were colonized

- power, economics, politics, religion, and culture relation to colonial hegemony

Post Structuralism Criticism

ways and places where systems, frameworks, definitions, and certainties break down

- ideology

- no unified truth exists - holds many truths

- power structures/hegemonies enforcing hierarchy

Psychological Criticism

modern psychology's effect on literature and literary criticism

- Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theories

- investigation of artist's process -> author's biological circumstances affect behavior -> analysis of fiction characters using methods from psychology

Reader-Response Criticism

focuses on the reader rather than the work itself (attempting to describe what goes on in the reader's mind)

- this makes me feel this way

Structuralism Criticism

"universal" qualities of a piece of literature.

- patterns built up and broken down to get at an interpretation of that text

- symbols and combinations of them and their effect

Archetypes

universally recognizable element

- arche typos (greek) - original pattern

psychic instincts of human species

recurring patterns that exist universally and instinctively in the collective uncnscious

modern concept of archetypes

developed by carl jung

Jung's theory

distinction between personal unconscious and collective unconscious

primordial images

archetypes = fundamental primordial images, organizing collective unconscious into symbolical figures

3 major categories of archetypes

character

situational (plot lines, themes, and conflict)

symbolic (images and symbols)

archetypal analysis: architectural category

cosmic, nature, and birth and death

archetypal analysis: spatial forms

centrality, symmetry, geometry, spiral forms, and transitional sequences

archetypal analysis: communal meanign

iconic structure that showcase coexistence of multiple archetypes

jungian layer: common goal

shared essence in architectural archetypes and unconscious mind

jungian layer: persona

social personality facing the world

jungian layer: shadow

dark side of person - repressed desires, weaknesses, instincts, and shortcomings

jungian layer: the self

integrative core of psyche, totality of personality (collective unconscious is organized)

- Horatio

Character archetype: the hero

central figure for great strength/courage, willing to risk life for good

Character archetype: the mentor

guides hero - providing wisdom, knowledge, and preparation

(King Hamlet to Hamlet)

Character archetype: the shadow

potential for evil

- King Hamlet - desire of revenge

- Claudius - corruption of a ruler

Character archetype: the caregiver

nurturing and protective - abundance, fertility

- Queen Gertrude

Character archetype: the scapegoat

blamed for wrongdoings of others and is punished in their place

- Polonius when he is killed for what Claudius did

situational archetype: the journey

journey of life with trial and tribulations to self discovery, ending in to psychological hell

- series of challenges, regarding grief and madness, and loyal vs disloyal companions

Symbolic archetype: internal shadow conflict

psychological struggle against shadow

- Hamlet desire for revenge vs morals

symbolic archetype: the serpent

symbol of energy, libido, evil, corruption, sensuality, and destruction

- King Claudius

symbolic archetype: black

death and evil

- Hamlet's grief

symbolic archetype: green

hope, growth, fertility

- Polonius to Ophelia "Affection, puh! You speak like a green girl" (shows how she believed in his love)

symbolic archetype: white

purity, innocence

- when Polonius read Hamlet's letter one described Ophelia using the color white (her innocence and purity in her actions vs how they were trying to use her)