Studying the origin of human intelligence is a controversial topic among historians, scholars, and psychologists. The topic’s contentious perspectives exist in the multiplicity of understanding and comprehending conscious and unconscious learning. In psychology, three archetypal models explore the significance of conscious and unconscious learning for an individual’s psyche and sense of self: literary, Platonic, and Jungian. However, the Jungian model has been overlooked for decades.
The Jungian archetypal model was created by an 85-year-old Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Carl Jung who was alive from July 26, 1875, to June 6, 1961. Jung’s model proposes that the human psyche and identity shape the collective unconscious.
In his book Jung on Mythology, Jung states that the “…collective unconscious appears to consist of mythological motifs or primordial images, for which reason the myths of all nations are its real exponents. In fact[,] the whole of mythology could be taken as a sort of projection of the collective unconscious. We can see this most clearly if we look at the heavenly constellations, whose originally chaotic forms are organized through the projection of images. This explains the influence of the stars as asserted by astrologers. These influences are nothing but unconscious [introspective] perceptions of the collective unconscious” (79). Jung believed that human interactions are inherently connected with their instincts and interpretations of archetypes, as supported by his definition of the collective unconscious.
James Hillman’s book Re-Visioning Psychology examines the soul-making process by analyzing the works of classic authors. Hillman acknowledges that he was influenced by Carl Jung’s model, by stating “…I follow C. G. Jung very closely. He considered the fantasy images that run through our daydreams and night dreams, and which are present unconsciously in all our consciousness, to be the primary data of the psyche” (xvii). The quote highlights two points: (1) Jung’s relevance to modern psychologists in the 21st century and (2) the connection between the human brain’s synapses during dreaming and the concept of collective unconsciousness. The connection suggests that a certain level of intelligence is hereditary and can be transmitted through generations.
The Jungian archetypal model offers a different perspective compared to the literary and Platonic archetypal models. However, this does not mean that Jung’s model should be disregarded from English university curricula. Excluding archetypal models or any other materials from the academic study only discourages society from investigating unanswered questions. Therefore, to fully utilize human intelligence, the curriculum should cover all topics in a field, regardless of the political views of the time.