Impact of Schopenhauer’s views on the unconscious

John Vespasian

Few historians acknowledge the large influence of Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) on psychology, but Schopenhauer’s theory of the will (“life force”) as irrational driver of human psychology had set the background for Freud’s concept of a subconscious. Nowadays, it’s widely accepted that wild impulses often prompt us to seek short-term pleasures at the cost of long-term suffering. Carl Jung (1875-1961) was also profoundly influenced by Schopenhauer’s views on the unconscious, but developed them further. Jung created the concept of collective unconscious, a layer shared by humans across cultures and throughout history. According to Jung, the collective unconscious contains the archetypes (universal symbols) employed by all humans; those help shape the myths and folklore of each culture. Jung believed that archetypes (such as the lonely hero, the intransigent innovator, the wandering ghost, the restless soul or the evil force) exist in all cultures. You can find versions of the archetypes in children’s stories around the world. It is not a coincidence that archetypes exist, argued Jung. In his view, archetypes represent fundamental human attitudes to situations that occur in all cultures. They supply templates that are recognisable in every human society. Schopenhauer would have dismissed the idea of a collective unconscious as speculative and meaningless. In contrast to the theory of the will developed by Schopenhauer, the concept of a collective subconscious does not explain human motivation. Even if it was true that all cultures use similar metaphors or story patterns, it doesn’t mean that human beings are driven by those stories. Even if all individuals know the archetype of the hero, only a few people are going to display heroic behaviour.According to Jung, the collective unconscious contains the archetypes (universal symbols) employed by all humans; those help shape the myths and folklore of each culture. Jung believed that archetypes (such as the lonely hero, the intransigent innovator, the wandering ghost, the restless soul or the evil force) exist in all cultures. You can find versions of the archetypes in children’s stories around the world. It is not a coincidence that archetypes exist, argued Jung. In his view, archetypes represent fundamental human attitudes to situations that occur in all cultures. They supply templates that are recognisable in every human society. Here is the link to the original article: https://johnvespasian.com/impact-of-schopenhauers-views-on-the-unconscious/