Carl Jung

• Born July 26, 1875

• June 6, 1961 

• Cause of death: Not listed. Died at age 85 after an illness.

Carl Jung was a Swiss psychologist known for his theory of archetypes. He described himself as as an introverted child who enjoyed being left alone. Jung was his parent's 4th and only surviving child. Like Erich Fromm, Jung's mother also suffering from depression, and was usually away from home. Her mood became much better once the Jung's moved closer to her family.

Jung was a colleague of Freud, and agreed with much of his theories, even basing some on his own theories. However, Jung viewed the unconscious differently from Freud.

Just like Frued's Theory, Jung divided the human mind into three parts:

 

Jung thought the ego was the unconscious mind, but Freud thought of Id as the unconscious. The two's friendship, because of this disagreement, dissolved. 

The ego consisted of the collective unconscious, and the personal unconscious.

The collective unconscious is our experience  from memories shared with society as a species. It is a kind of knowledge that we are all born with. We are not conscious of it and it influences our behaviors and experiences.

Jung believed this is the reason why so many different cultures have the same myths, religion, art, symbols and recurring dreams. These are called archetypes. He also believed that humans are not born as "blank slates," and that we are born with predisposed memories that influence our behavior. This may be why we sometimes experience a gut feeling that we have been in the same place twice. Past events do influence our behavior, but they do not serve as markers for our actions all the time. For example, someone who was born into a normal, happy family will not necessarily grow up without psychopathological disorders.

Here are some examples of archetypes:

There are 4 main archetypes according to Jung.  The archetypes are problematic since the archetype may not match the individual. Suppose a feminine man does not fit his archetype, nor does a masculine woman. Then is this not their true selves too? This contributes to rigid gender roles that society feel everyone must abide by. If one does not fit the expected archetype, then bias is able to flourish

Jung also rejected Freud's emphasis on sex for the sole source of human motivation. He based his theories on a more social model. During this time, Jung became interested in symbol and dreams and  information from what he learned  influenced his theories on psychology.

Jung is most famous for his development of 2 personality types, which is the introvert and extrovert.

Introverts prefer being alone, and their internal thoughts, dreams and feelings. They prefer familiar environments too. Extroverts are more outgoing, prefer to be in the company of others, and explore new activities.