Carl Jung's "Collective Unconscious": Grappling with the collective unconscious is particularly difficult for the white man. In effect, the collective unconscious is an idea put forth by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (pictured above c.1910) and it constitutes a memory bank of all human experiences. As a result, every rational being has access to this unconscious storage place. Unfortunately for the white European, certain dark areas of his history have left indelible scars within the collective human psyche. Slavery serves as one dark area with which the white man must deal. Today, whenever a white man encounters a black man with an ostensibly Anglicized last name like "Smith" or "Bond," an eerie feeling creeps down the white man's neck for this is a tell-tale sign of a lineage of slavery. And although the white man did not personally participate in the forced bondage of the black man, he cannot help but feel the guilt that is inevitably thrust upon him by the collective unconscious. In many respects, the collective unconscious acts as a constant reminder of all past human experiences, and for the most part, it works through a series of what Jung called "archetypal images." An image, such as a black man hanging from a tree by a noose, triggers a visceral reaction to the atrocities of the past, and thus, a process of reconciliation between whites and blacks ought to ensue as a result.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Carl Jung's "Collective Unconscious"
Carl Jung's "Collective Unconscious": Grappling with the collective unconscious is particularly difficult for the white man. In effect, the collective unconscious is an idea put forth by Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung (pictured above c.1910) and it constitutes a memory bank of all human experiences. As a result, every rational being has access to this unconscious storage place. Unfortunately for the white European, certain dark areas of his history have left indelible scars within the collective human psyche. Slavery serves as one dark area with which the white man must deal. Today, whenever a white man encounters a black man with an ostensibly Anglicized last name like "Smith" or "Bond," an eerie feeling creeps down the white man's neck for this is a tell-tale sign of a lineage of slavery. And although the white man did not personally participate in the forced bondage of the black man, he cannot help but feel the guilt that is inevitably thrust upon him by the collective unconscious. In many respects, the collective unconscious acts as a constant reminder of all past human experiences, and for the most part, it works through a series of what Jung called "archetypal images." An image, such as a black man hanging from a tree by a noose, triggers a visceral reaction to the atrocities of the past, and thus, a process of reconciliation between whites and blacks ought to ensue as a result.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Catholicism as Cannibalism?
Catholicism as Cannibalism?: When Catholics receive the "Body of Christ" in the form of a consecrated piece of bread, they assume Christ-like qualities. That is, through the ingestion of the sacramental bread (host), Christians become infused with the Holy Spirit, and thus, attempt to recenter their lives on the principles of love, forgiveness, and humility. To some non-Christians, however, the symbolic eating of Christ's body appears as a cannibalistic act. Ingesting the body of God is certainly a unique feature of Catholic Christianity. Other Christian sects view this act as blasphemous, especially considering the presumed arrogance of someone to think that he or she is worthy of consuming a piece of the Divine. Even so, for Catholics, the sacrament of the Eucharist is the source of all life, and thus, the most important part of weekly mass celebrations. Also referred to as the "Lord's Supper," Catholics gather in Church to seek unity with Christ. This union of the human and the Divine, of the finite and the Infinite, of the temporal and the Eternal, is an essential part of the "Mystery of Faith" whereby the bread on the altar effectively becomes God through the process of transubstantiation.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)