The Human Body is the Collective Unconscious: Archetypal Images as Innate Embodied Metaphors.

For a significant part of its history, archetype theory has been undermined by criticisms containing unexamined Cartesian assumptions. Such assumptions treat all cognition as disembodied, consisting of mere manipulation of abstract, inherently meaningless signs mimicked from verbal instruction or cultural learning. Since the 1980s, due to the results of many independent disciplines, however, this view is being replaced with one of embodied cognition. This shift has important consequences for archetype theory, allowing us to provide a non-reductive biological anchor that explains many characteristics of the archetypal image.

Pendant une partie importante de son histoire, la théorie des archétypes a été discréditée par des critiques contenant des hypothèses cartésiennes qui n'étaient pas remises en question. De telles hypothèses considèrent que toute capacité cognitive est désincarnée et consiste en une simple manipulation de signes abstraits et intrinsèquement dépourvus de sens, imités à partir d'instructions verbales ou d'apprentissage culturel. Néanmoins depuis les années 1980, du fait de résultats provenant de plusieurs disciplines indépendantes, cette façon de voir est remplacée par une autre: celle de la capacité cognitive incarnée. Ce déplacement a des conséquences importantes pour la théorie des archétypes, nous permettant de fournir un ancrage biologique non­réducteur qui explique un grand nombre de caractéristiques de l'image archétypale.

Durante una parte significativa de su historia, la teoría de los arquetipos se ha visto afectada por críticas que contenían supuestos cartesianos no examinados. Dichos supuestos dan cuenta de toda cognición como incorpórea, consistiendo en la mera manipulación de signos abstractos e intrínsecamente carentes de significado, imitados a partir de la instrucción verbal o el aprendizaje cultural. Sin embargo, desde la década de 1980, gracias a los resultados de muchas disciplinas independientes, este punto de vista se está sustituyendo por el de la cognición encarnada. Este cambio tiene importantes consecuencias para la teoría de los arquetipos, ya que nos permite ofrecer un anclaje biológico no reductivo que explica muchas características de la imagen arquetípica.

Understanding Spontaneous Symbolism in Psychotherapy Using Embodied Thought.

Spontaneous, unwilled subjective imagery and symbols (including dreams) often emerge in psychotherapy that can appear baffling and confound interpretation. Early psychoanalytic theories seemed to diverge as often as they agreed on the meaning of such content. Nevertheless, after reviewing key findings in the empirical science of spontaneous thought as well as insights gleaned from neuroscience and especially embodied cognition, it is now possible to construct a more coherent theory of interpretation that is clinically useful. Given that thought is so thoroughly embodied, it is possible to demonstrate that universalities in human physiology yield universalities in thought. Such universalities can then be demonstrated to form a kind of biologically directed universal "code" for understanding spontaneous symbolic expressions that emerge in psychotherapy. An example is given that illustrates how this can be applied to clinical encounters.

Phenotypic plasticity and archetype: a response to common objections to the biological theory of archetype and instinct.

Since Jung's death in 1961, scholars have attempted to integrate growing biological science data into Jungian concepts such as the collective unconscious, instincts and the archetypes. This enterprise has been challenging due to persistent false dichotomies of gene and environment occasionally arising. Recent works by Roesler (2022a, 2022b) for example, have raised objections to the biological theory of archetypes, but the objections are plagued by such dichotomies. The concept of phenotypic plasticity, however, helps to both avoid this problem as well as bridge the gap between competing theories into a more integrated model with solid biological foundations.

Depuis la mort de Jung en 1961, les chercheurs ont tenté d'intégrer les données nouvelles de la biologie avec les concepts Jungiens tels que l'inconscient collectif, les instincts et les archétypes. Cette initiative a rencontré des difficultés car des dichotomies fausses mais tenaces sur le sujet des gènes et de l'environnement se manifestaient. Les travaux récents de Roesler (2022a, 2022b) par exemple ont exprimé des objections à la théorie biologique des archétypes. Cependant ces objections sont biaisées par les dichotomies mentionnées. Le concept de plasticité phénotypique, cependant, aide à la fois à éviter ce problème et à former une passerelle entre des théories rivales et un modèle mieux intégré et doté de solides fondements biologiques.

Desde la muerte de Jung en 1961, académicos han intentado integrar data creciente de las ciencias biológicas a conceptos Junguianos como inconsciente colectivo, instintos y arquetipos. Esta empresa ha sido desafiada debido al surgimiento ocasional de persistentes falsas dicotomías entre genes y medio ambiente. Trabajos recientes de Roesler (2022a, 2022b), por ejemplo, han planteado objeciones a la teoría biológica del arquetipo, pero las objeciones se encuentran afectadas por semejantes dicotomías. El concepto de plasticidad fenotípica, sin embargo, ayuda a evitar este problema, así como a subsanar la brecha entre teorías contrapuestas, hacia un modelo más integrado con fundamentos biógicos sólidos.

Archetypes and clinical application: how the genome responds to experience.

The continuing dialogue within analytical psychology regarding the relationship to Jung's "collective unconscious" and biological research calls for a more sophisticated treatment of terminology that is consilient with modern neurogenetics. This essay explores how fully understanding the way genome and environment interact can help us parse out clinical material, enabling us to judge what expressions are repeats of early experiences vs. what are innately driven re-organizations of experience.

Le dialogue qui se poursuit dans la psychologie analytique au sujet de la relation entre 'l'inconscient collectif' de Jung et la recherche en biologie appelle à un traitement plus sophistiqué de la terminologie qui soit consilient avec la neurogénétique moderne. Cet article explore comment une pleine compréhension de la manière dont le génome et l'environnement interagissent peut nous aider à analyser le matériel clinique, nous rendant capables de juger quelles expressions sont des répétitions d'expériences précoces et lesquelles sont par contre des réorganisations de l'expérience résultant de l'inné.

El diálogo continuo, al interior de la psicología analítica, acerca de la relación del inconsciente colectivo de Jung y la investigación biológica demanda un tratamiento más sofisticado de la terminología, concordante con la neurogenética moderna. El presente ensayo explora como la plena comprensión del modo en que el genoma y el entorno interactúan puede ayudarnos a analizar el material clínico, permitiéndonos juzgar que expresiones son repeticiones de experiencias tempranas y cuales son reorganizaciones de la experiencia motivadas de manera innata.

Archetypes and the 'Impoverished Genome' argument: updates from evolutionary genetics.

Throughout his career, Jung felt the psyche had 'ancestral layers' that contained elements of an individual's species history, and clinical experience has shown that this idea can be an aid to psychological healing and emotional well-being. Thus, some later thinkers have attempted to link such theoretical constructs to the genome, as Jung had little knowledge of genetics in his day. But in the early 2000s, genome studies suggested that the genome might contain too little content to be capable of encoding symbolic information. This opinion gave rise to an oft-repeated 'impoverished genome' argument, i.e. that the genome could not provide a significant contribution to the collective unconscious, prompting theorists to propose other sources for it, or to argue that it doesn't exist. Today, however, developments in evolutionary neurogenetics calls the impoverished genome argument into question for a number of independent reasons. These developments re-open the idea that the genome may be worth reconsidering as the biological substrate for the collective unconscious.

Tout au long de sa carrière, Jung a eu le sentiment que la psyché avait des « couches ancestrales ¼ contenant des éléments de l'histoire de l'espèce de l'individu. Et l'expérience clinique a montré que cette idée pouvait être aidante pour la guérison psychologique et le bien-être émotionnel. Par conséquent, certains penseurs ont par la suite tenté de rattacher de telles constructions théoriques au génome. Jung, à son époque, n'avait pas eu les connaissances en génétique pour aller dans ce sens. Mais au début des années 2000, les études sur le génome ont suggéré que le génome ne contiendrait que trop peu de contenu pour être en mesure de mettre en code de l'information symbolique. Cette opinion a donné naissance à un argument souvent brandi, celui du « génome appauvri ¼, à savoir que le génome ne pouvait pas fournir une réelle contribution à l'inconscient collectif. Ceci a poussé les théoriciens à en proposer d'autres sources, ou à argumenter qu'il n'existait pas. De nos jours cependant, des avancées dans la neuro-génétique de l'évolution remettent en question ce débat, de diverses manières. Ces avancées permettent de s'intéresser de nouveau à l'idée que le génome peut être envisagé comme le substrat biologique de l'inconscient collectif.

A través de su carrera, Jung sintió que la psique tiene 'estratos ancestrales' que contienen elementos de la historia de la especie de un individuo, y la experiencia clínica ha mostrado que esta idea puede ser de ayuda en la curación psicológica y en el bienestar emocional. Así, algunos pensadores posteriores han intentado relacionar dichos constructos teóricos con el genoma, habiendo tenido Jung poco conocimiento sobre genética en su tiempo. Pero a comienzos del 2000, los estudios sobre el genoma han sugerido que el genoma podría contener demasiado poco contenido para ser capaz de codificar información simbólica. Esta opinión dio lugar a un a menudo repetido argumento sobre el 'genoma empobrecido', i.e, que el genoma no puede ofrecer una contribución significativa al inconsciente colectivo dando lugar a que teóricos propongan otras fuentes para ello, o argumenten que no existe. Sin embargo, actualmente desarrollos en neurogenética evolutiva cuestiona el argumento del genoma emprobecido por un número de razones independientes. Estos desarrollos abren nuevamente la idea de que puede ser valioso reconsiderar el genoma como el substrato biológico del inconsciente colectivo.

Teaching Dream Interpretation to Psychiatric Residents.

Though the clinical and experimental literature suggests that discussing dreams with therapy patients can be beneficial in a variety of important ways, there appears to be a gap in educational opportunities for psychiatric residents regarding this process. To address this educational need at the authors' residency program, a class in psychodynamically oriented dream analysis was implemented, and data was collected in the form of learner surveys both before and after they took the course. The survey found that the level of importance placed on dream work, the comfort level in discussing dreams with patients, and the frequency with which dreams were discussed in sessions were all increased after taking the course. Our conclusion was that these preliminary results suggest that implementing a structured course on dream analysis may help to fill the educational gap.

Comments on the 2018 IAAP Conference on Archetype Theory: defending a non-reductive biological approach.

During the course of the 2018 IAAP conference, a criticism of Jung's idea of the archetype as inherited predisposition was raised that involved examining a number of dreams and visions and assessing them through developments in genetics and neuroscience. From this comparison it was argued that archetypes cannot be inherited and could more reasonably be argued to derive from early experiences. In this essay, the author responds by showing how this conclusion is flawed due to being based on reductive errors. An alternative, non-reductive but inherited and biological position on the archetype is defended.

Au cours de la Conférence de l'AIPA de 2018, la critique de l'idée de Jung que l'archétype est une prédisposition héréditaire a été émise. Dans cette critique un certain nombre de rêves et de visions ont été étudiés et comparés avec des avancées dans la génétique et les neurosciences. A partir de cette comparaison, il a été proposé que les archétypes ne peuvent pas être hérités et que l'on peut de manière plus raisonnable en situer l'émergence dans les expériences précoces. Dans cette étude, l'auteur répond à cela montrant comment cette conclusion pose problème, du fait qu'elle repose sur des erreurs réductrices. L'auteur propose une alternative concernant l'archétype; celle d'une position non-réductive mais héritée et biologique.

En el transcurso de la Conferencia IAAP 2018, se llevó a cabo una crítica a la idea de arquetipo de Jung como predisposición heredada; la cual incluyó la indagación en una serie de sueños y visiones, comparándolos con desarrollos en los campos de la genética y las neurociencias. A partir de esta comparación, se argumentó que los arquetipos no pueden ser heredados, y que podría argumentarse de manera más razonable que deriven de experiencias tempranas. En el presente ensayo, el autor responde mostrando como esta conclusión es poco consistente por estar basada en errores reductivos. Se defiende una perspectiva de arquetipo biológica y hereditaria, y al mismo tiempo alternativa y no-reductiva.

Rediscovering the ritual technology of the placebo effect in analytical psychology.

Technology, viewed more generally, is a collection of skills and methods that are used to accomplish an objective of some kind. Modernity has produced many kinds of ever-expanding new technologies, but it is also evident that technologies can be lost or fall out of use. A cross-cultural survey of ritual reveals a rather startling observation: that while developed nations often exceed other cultures in terms of material technology, they often pale by comparison in their use of ritual technology. In this essay we will see how ritual is a powerful sort of technology that developed nations have mostly allowed to drift out of regular, vigorous use, despite its numerous psychological and biological effects. This tendency has left one of the rituals we still have - psychotherapy itself - to be bereft of some of the typical tools for concretizing the symbolic in recurrent patterns around the world. Jung himself could be accused of being somewhat anti-ritual himself, enmeshed as he was in the post-Protestant, post-Enlightenment cultural environment that defines the West in many ways. But these under-utilized elements of ritual technology may be a natural fit for Jungian therapy due to its use of symbols.

Recurrent motifs as resonant attractor states in the narrative field: a testable model of archetype.

At the most basic level, archetypes represented Jung's attempt to explain the phenomenon of recurrent myths and folktale motifs (Jung 1956, 1959, para. 99). But the archetype remains controversial as an explanation of recurrent motifs, as the existence of recurrent motifs does not prove that archetypes exist. Thus, the challenge for contemporary archetype theory is not merely to demonstrate that recurrent motifs exist, since that is not disputed, but to demonstrate that archetypes exist and cause recurrent motifs. The present paper proposes a new model which is unlike others in that it postulates how the archetype creates resonant motifs. This model necessarily clarifies and adapts some of Jung's seminal ideas on archetype in order to provide a working framework grounded in contemporary practice and methodologies. For the first time, a model of archetype is proposed that can be validated on empirical, rather than theoretical grounds. This is achieved by linking the archetype to the hard data of recurrent motifs rather than academic trends in other fields.

A Jungian approach to dreams reported by soldiers in a modern combat zone.

Treating combat deployed soldiers is becoming more prevalent and needed in psychiatry. Modern combat produces unique psychological challenges, including those without criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This article will attempt to share the primary author's experience with psychotherapy in a combat zone, along with understanding the general themes of dreams the author encountered while being deployed. Toward that end, the primary author [RW] discusses his personal experiences in Iraq working with soldiers whom he saw and treated while in theatre, with a particular focus on the dreams they reported. The co-authors [EG and MI] afterward collaborated with the primary author to formulate and provide insight into the dreams from a Jungian perspective.

Approaching archetypes: reconsidering innateness.

The question of innateness has hounded Jungian psychology since Jung originally postulated the archetype as an a priori structure within the psyche. During his life and after his death he was continually accused of Lamarckianism and criticized for his theory that the archetypes existed as prior structures. More recently, with the advent of genetic research and the human genome project, the idea that psychological structures can be innate has come under even harsher criticism even within Jungian thought. There appears to be a growing consensus that Jung's idea of innate psychological structures was misguided, and that perhaps the archetype-as-such should be abandoned for more developmental and 'emergent' theories of the psyche. The purpose of this essay is to question this conclusion, and introduce some literature on psychological innateness that appears relevant to this discussion.

Increased cell density decreases cysteine proteinase inhibitor activity and increases invasive ability of two prostate tumor cell lines.

The ability of a cancer cell to metastasis to a distant site is partly dependent on the secretion of matrix degrading enzymes. The lysosomal cysteine proteinases, cathepsins B and L, have been shown to be secreted by a number of cancer cells and have been implicated in metastasis. Cathepsins B and L are regulated by a class of inhibitors known as the cystatins; aberrant cystatin activity has also been shown in a number of cancer cells. Two prostate cancer cell lines, PC3 and DU145, and a normal prostate epithelial cell (NPC) culture were used to determine the importance of cathepsins L+B and cysteine proteinase inhibitor (CPI) activity in the ability of each cell line to invade the reconstituted basement membrane, Matrigel. Cathepsin L+B and CPI activities were evident in the cell extract and conditioned media of PC3, DU145 and NPC; however, only the cancer cell lines PC3 and DU145 exhibited invasive ability. Invasive ability was partially inhibited following exposure of PC3 and DU145 cells to the CPI, E-64. Since environmental factors such as cell-cell interactions are responsible for mediating the expression of a number of genes involved in metastasis, the effects of cell density on cathepsin and CPI activities and invasive ability were also determined. CPI activity decreased and invasive ability increased with increasing cell density. We conclude that cathepsin L+B plays a significant role in the invasive ability of the two prostate cancer cell lines, PC3 and DU145. This may be due to decreased regulation by endogenous CPIs whose activity diminishes at high cell densities.