The Cunning of Geist 072 - Pillars of the Collective Unconscious: How Jung's Feminine & Masculine Archetypes Manifest in the Psyche and Brain
This episode explores psychologist Carl Jung's conception of the psyche, from the ego and the persona it shows to the world, down through the personal and collective shadow, finally reaching the two core archetypes of the collective unconscious - the anima and the animus.
This fundamental polarity is seen in myths and narratives throughout the ages, including the yin/yang symbol, heaven and earth of the Bible, Hegel's being and nothing, and even the left and right brain hemispheres, with it two distinct approaches to thinking.
While this polarity is often expressed as masculine/feminine, it is not dependent on the body, but on a host of psychological attributes that differ in their application. The anima is more receptive, social, and connecting, whereas the animus is more divisive and abstract. The aspects we identify with and put forward mean their opposites are kept below in the unconscious. But both sides exist in all of us, whether implicit or explicit.
This episode explores the collective unconscious from several standpoints, including the mystical tree of life from the Kabbalah.