Archetype

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For other uses, see Archetype (disambiguation).

An archetype (

/ˈɑrkɪtaɪp/) is a universally understood symbol or term^[1] or pattern of behavior, a prototype upon which others are copied, patterned, or emulated. Archetypes are often used in myths and storytelling across different cultures.

In psychology, an archetype is a model of a person, personality, or behavior.

In philosophy, archetypes since Plato at least, refer to ideal forms of the perceived or sensible things or types.

In the analysis of personality, the term archetype is often broadly used to refer to

1. a stereotype—personality type observed multiple times, especially an oversimplification of such a type,
2. an epitome—personality type exemplified, especially the "greatest" such example, or
3. a literary term to express details.

Archetype refers to a generic version of a personality. In this sense "mother figure" may be considered an archetype and may be identified in various characters with otherwise distinct (non-generic) personalities.

Archetypes are likewise supposed to have been present in folklore and literature for thousands of years, including prehistoric artwork. The use of archetypes to illuminate personality and literature was advanced by Carl Jung early in the 20th century, who suggested the existence of universal contentless forms that channel experiences and emotions, resulting in recognizable and typical patterns of behavior with certain probable outcomes. Archetypes are cited as important to both ancient mythology and modern narratives, as argued by Joseph Campbell in works such as The Hero With a Thousand Faces.

[edit] Etymology

First attested in English in 1540s,^[2] the word archetype derives from the Latin noun archetypum, the latinisation of the Greek noun ἀρχέτυπον (archetupon) and adjective ἀρχέτυπος (archetupos), meaning "first-moulded",^[3] which is a compound of ἀρχή (archē,) "beginning, origin"^[4] + τύπος (tupos), amongst others "pattern, model, type".^[5]

Pronunciation note: The "ch" in archetype is a transliteration of the Greek chi (χ) and is most commonly articulated in English as a "k".^[6]

[edit] Origins

The origins of the archetypal hypothesis date back as far as Plato. Jung himself compared archetypes to Platonic ideas. Plato's ideas were pure mental forms, that were imprinted in the soul before it was born into the world. They were collective in the sense that they embodied the fundamental characteristics of a thing rather than its specific peculiarities.

The Platonist Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria used the term to describe the Imago Dei, and the Gallic Christian theologian Irenaeus of Lyons used the term to describe the act of Creation.^[7]

[edit] Jungian archetypes

Main article: Jungian archetypes

The concept of psychological archetypes was advanced by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, c. 1919. In Jung's psychological framework archetypes are innate, universal prototypes for ideas and may be used to interpret observations. A group of memories and interpretations associated with an archetype is a complex, e.g. a mother complex associated with the mother archetype. Jung treated the archetypes as psychological organs, analogous to physical ones in that both are morphological constructs that arose through evolution.^[8]

Jung outlined five main archetypes;

• The Self, the regulating center of the psyche and facilitator of individuation
• The Shadow, the opposite of the ego image, often containing qualities with which the ego does not identify, but which it possesses nonetheless
• The Anima, the feminine image in a man's psyche; or:
• The Animus, the masculine image in a woman's psyche
• The Persona, how we present to the world, is another of 'the subpersonalities, the complexes'^[9] and usually protects the Ego from negative images (acts like a mask)

Although archetypes can take on innumerable forms, there are a few particularly notable, recurring archetypal images^{[citation needed]}: