Healing Cultural Divides: A Jungian Approach

Abstract

In a world torn by division and strife, solutions for bridging divides are lacking. This paper explores some basic Jungian ideas and how they can be applied to helping heal the divisions that exist in the multicultural world of the 21st century. Positioned in a “hermeneutics of hope” as evidenced in Jung’s work, it offers the reader valid reasons to hope for a better future. While understanding the origins and acknowledging the reality of the challenges presented by divisions between groups, this paper takes a “big picture” approach and is grounded in the context of a Hegelian view of history as dialectical progress. This paper uses depth psychological principles as pertinent to that progress. Recognizing that the road ahead is long and difficult, the authors suggest that greater understanding of these principles may lead to the increased recognition of our common humanity, revealing certain possibilities of achieving unity through diversity.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jessie Thompson

Jessie Thompson, M.A., was the co-founder and co-director of the Olive Branch Center, promoting the ideas of engaged spirituality and global solidarity. She received her MA in Jungian and Archetypal Studies from Pacifica Graduate Institute and is currently pursuing her PhD in that program. She serves on the board of directors of Charlotte Friends of Jung in her hometown of Charlotte, NC. She can be reached at [email protected]

Clifford Mayes

Clifford Mayes, Ph.D., Psy.D., served for 25 years as a professor of educational psychology at Brigham Young University. Considered the founder of “archetypal pedagogy,” Mayes has authored 14 books and 40 scholarly articles (several of which have appeared in Psychological Perspectives) in educational psychology. His latest book, published this year by Routledge Press, is Archetype, Culture and the Individual in Education: The Three Pedagogical Narratives. He continues to research, write, and mentor to advance the cause of archetypal pedagogy. He can be contacted at: [email protected]