Jung’s Contribution to an Ecological Psychology

Abstract

This article connects the psychological concepts and philosophical insights of Jung with some of the basic postulates of ecopsychology. The thesis of the article is that Jung’s depth psychological approach is a relevant hermeneutic device for understanding and dealing with the psychic roots of the modern world’s ecological problems. Using the concepts of archetypes, the collective unconscious, repression, archaic consciousness, personal and collective shadows, and individuation, the article demonstrates how each has implications for the advancement of an ecopsychological approach to the psyche and our understanding of the world. Perhaps most important, the article exemplifies how Jung’s psychological research allows us to envision the interpenetration of psyche, nature, and spirit, thus bridging the modern epistemological gap that has developed between them in the Western world.