Job, Jung and Theodicy - The Cathedral of St. Philip

Job, Jung, the Collective
Unconscious and
Archetypes
According to Jung, archetypes are
universal psychic dispositions that form
the “basement” of the soul, from which
the basic symbols of unconscious
experience emerge. Examples include
birth, death, separation from parents,
“initiation” rituals, and so on, and
archetypal figures include mother, father,
God, hero, shadow, Anima/Animus
(feminine /masculine images), the
Shadow, and so on. Archetypes arise out
of the “collective unconscious,” common
to all of us, which seeks to organize
experience. The most powerful ideas in
history go back to archetypes, especially
religious ideas, and they seek to give
meaning to experience. The Timaeus, for
example, one of Plato’s dialogues,
speculates on the nature of the world
and the creation of the “world soul.”
Films such as “Star Wars” and “Lord of
the Rings” are filled with Jungian
archetypes and themes. For Jung, such
questions were inherent in what it means
to be human. “Meaning‐making,” in
relationship with God, self, and one
another, is the deepest form of human
activity. Hence, “Answer to Job.”