William E. Smythe & Angelina Baydala
Aesthetics Hermeneutics symbolic expression
Published: Jan 17, 2012
Abstract: Hermeneutics has been central to the practice of Jung’s psychology from the
beginning, although he never fully and consistently developed a hermeneutic method of
inquiry and the literature addressing this aspect of his psychology is not extensive. In
this paper 1 we undertake a critical re-examination of Jung’s relationship to hermeneutic
thought, based on his explicit references to hermeneutics in the Collected Works and his
theoretical development of the notion of archetypes. Although Jung did not consistently
formulate a hermeneutic approach to inquiry, his theoretical development of archetypes
is rich in hermeneutic implications. In particular, his notion of the archetype as such can
be understood hermeneutically as a form of non-conceptual background understanding.
Some implications of this construal of archetypes for Jungian hermeneutics as a form of
inquiry are considered.
Description:
Abstract: Hermeneutics has been central to the practice of Jung’s psychology from the
beginning, although he never fully and consistently developed a hermeneutic method of
inquiry and the literature addressing this aspect of his psychology is not extensive. In
this paper 1 we undertake a critical re-examination of Jung’s relationship to hermeneutic
thought, based on his explicit references to hermeneutics in the Collected Works and his
theoretical development of the notion of archetypes. Although Jung did not consistently
formulate a hermeneutic approach to inquiry, his theoretical development of archetypes
is rich in hermeneutic implications. In particular, his notion of the archetype as such can
be understood hermeneutically as a form of non-conceptual background understanding.
Some implications of this construal of archetypes for Jungian hermeneutics as a form of
inquiry are considered.