The shadow is a moral problem that challenges the whole personality, for no one can become conscious of the shadow without considerable moral effort. To become conscious of it involves recognizing the dark aspects of the personality as present and real. This act is the essential condition for any kind of self-knowledge. (Aion, 1951, in Collected Works 9, Part II, p. 14)
Sunday, January 29, 2006
The Dark Side
Dan, my old college roommate, offers this interesting post on the Jungian concept of the shadow. It makes for provocative reading! Here's a short excerpt to whet your appetite:
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5 comments:
Me and my shadow.
I know that side very well.
I don't think one can be a good therapist without knowing those dark aspects.
Nice post.
Deb -
I agree: Effective therapists need to be keenly aware of own potential for 'darkness' lest they be blindsided by it!
JW -
Ethicist Peter Singer has observed (based on good anthropological and psychological evidence) that we all tend spontaneously to divide the world up into "In Group" (people like me) and "Out Group", with the latter category generally demonized and regarded as unworthy of empathy.
It's probably a small step, then, for a person to project their own unwanted, unsavory (and unrecognized) shadowy characteristics onto those in the Out Group. It's no coincidence that researchers find those with the lowest self-regard to be the people most inclined to virulent racial prejudice.
In A Little Book of the Human Shadow (1988) Robert Bly describes the shadow as a bag that we drag along behind us into which we put any “not me” parts, aspects of ourselves we do not want to own or embrace. Each of us is our own version of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The further away we push those darker aspects of ourselves, the more primitive they become.
It is also far easier to see Shadow in another than to see it in ourselves and know that what we say of others is to greater or lesser degree true of us as well.
Cheryl,
Yes, I like the way you've put this. We all have 'blind spots' - traits and characteristics that we just can't (or won't) see in ourselves, and so often those are the very things that we WILL recognize and deplore in others.
My own take on it is: the sooner we recognize our own potential for darkness, the sooner we're able to resist it, turning to those 'better angels of our nature'!
Dr. Serani - I agree wholeheartedly, and would go further to say that anyone who wants to be an enlightened individual needs to know (and admit!) their dark aspects.
Dr. Fuller - liked the Bly reference. Of course, he's done much to popularize various Jungian concepts and re-introduce the mythic into our awareness. Given your background, I'd guess you're probably familiar with Joseph Campbell's work as well? I know there are differing opinions about his work, but I think he's a great entry point for folks wanting to learn more about the mythic.
And Dr. Pundit, thanks for the link, and I'm glad to see your regular devotees seem to have enjoyed it. Naturally, we do deplore our own shadow when we see it in others - in fact, that's one of the easiest ways to recognize it, by seeing what traits in other folks really set us off on an irrational tirade. Keep up the good work on your blog here.
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