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Psyche (psychology)
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Psyche (psychology)
The Psyche was the Greek concept of the self, encompassing the modern ideas
of soul, self, and mind. The Greeks believed that the soul or "psyche" was
responsible for behaviour.
In legend
The most well-known legend of the mythological character Psyche is given by
Apuleius's Metamorphosis (commonly known as The Golden Ass). She was the
youngest and loveliest of King Anatolia's three daughters. Aphrodite,
jealous of her beauty, sent her son, Eros (Cupid) to strike her with a rusty
golden arrow, which would make her fall in love with the worst man and ruin
her.
Instead, Eros fell in love with her and shot the arrow into the sea. When
she fell asleep, Eros took her to his palace. Aphrodite, irritated, allowed
Eros to visit her every night, but would not let her see his face.
One night, Psyche was told by her sisters to light a lamp. A drop of hot oil
from this lamp fell on Eros, who was dozing nearby. He woke up and fled.
Aphrodite made Psyche complete a number of almost impossible tasks, then
made her immortal and allowed her to live forever with her love, Eros.
Etymology of the word 'psyche'
The verb 'psycho' meant 'to blow', and psyche is the last breath before
death. This has come to signify the part of life that escapes a corpse upon
death.[citation needed]
It should be distinguished from the clinical "slang" of psycho, made famous
by the trilogy Psycho, which does not distinguish or validate the word to
describe the true meaning.
Jung's definitions of “psyche” and "soul"
Carl Jung wrote much of his work in German. Difficulties for translation
arise because the German word Seele means both psyche and soul. Jung was
careful to define what he meant by psyche and by soul.
I have been compelled, in my investigations into the structure of the
unconscious, to make a conceptual distinction between soul and psyche. By
psyche, I understand the totality of all psychic processes, conscious as
well as unconscious. By soul, on the other hand, I understand a clearly
demarcated functional complex that can best be described as a "personality".
(Jung, 1971: Def. 48 par. 797)
[The translation of the German word Seele presents almost insuperable
difficulties on account of the lack of a single English equivalent and
because it combines the two words "psyche" and "soul" in a way not
altogether familiar to the English reader. For this reason some comment by
the Editors will not be out of place.
[In previous translations, and in this one as well, psyche– for which Jung
in the German original uses either Psyche or Seele– has been used with
reference to the totality of all psychic processes (cf. Jung, Psychological
Types, Def. 48); i.e., it is a comprehensive term. Soul, on the other hand,
as used in the technical terminology of analytical psychology, is more
restricted in meaning and refers to a "function complex" or partial
personality and never to the whole psyche. It is often applied specifically
to "anima" and "animus"; e.g., in this connection it is used in the
composite word "soul-image" (Seelenbild). This conception of the soul is
more primitive than the Christian one with which the reader is likely to be
more familiar. In its Christian context it refers to "the transcendental
energy in man" and "the spiritual part of man considered in its moral aspect
or in relation to God." . . . –Editors.] (Jung, 1968: note 2 par. 9)
References
* Jung, C.G. (1968). Psychology and Alchemy, Collected Works, Volume 12,
Princeton, N.J. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691018316 OCLC 219856.
* Jung, C.G. (1971). Psychological Types, Collected Works, Volume 6,
Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-01813-8.
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