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  1. Sep 2023
    1. Thus, according to Jung, the collective unconscious is a reservoir of psychic resources common to all humans (something along the lines of psychological instinct). These psychic resources, known as archetypes, are passed down through the generations of a culture, but Jung considered them to be inherited, not learned. As generation after generation experienced similar phenomena, the archetypal images were formed. Despite cultural differences, the human experience has been similar in many ways throughout history. As such, there are certain archetypes common to all people. According to Jung, the most empirically valid archetypes, and therefore the most powerful, are the shadow, the anima, and the animus (Jung, 1959c).

      Psychological instinct I believe is another term for gut instinct which can also mean intuition. Why then do some people have a stronger connection to their archetype than others? I agree with Jung that this cannot be learned, that you are born with a predisposition to hearing this inner archetype voice. The human experience repeats itself essentially comprising of the desire for love and to be loved, to reproduce and care for your family, for success, to be remembered. To leave your children better off than you what you achieved. But also there's the violent instinct to build an empire and then burn it to the ground. "Collective unconscious is a reservoir of psychic resources common to all humans" is a straightforward definition and a simple representation of this is you have an evil wolf and a good wolf which make up you, you need to feed the good wolf more often than the evil wolf to be a "good" person in life. The definition of empirically is "by means of observation or experience rather than theory or pure logic." (Oxford) The shadow in me is a selfish nature that I must consciously not feed to keep it in check. Anima is defined by its Latin derivation meaning "soul" for example Pandora. Jung uses this to describe the inner feminine side of men. Animus is also soul and a masculine side of females an example is Tarzan.