The Godhead Archetype with James P. Driscoll

James P. Driscoll, PhD, is one of the foremost critics of Renaissance literature from a Jungian perspective. He is author of Identity in Shakespearean Drama and The Unfolding God of Jung and Milton.

Here he points out that, in Jungian psychological theory, the godhead archetype is representative of the larger self. This larger self includes many unconscious processes and is vastly greater than the ego. It can also be thought of as the self of society, or of the biosphere, or even of the cosmos. Jung was critical of the Christian view of the trinity, insofar as it excluded a specifically feminine principle. James Driscoll points out, however, that in the earliest Jewish and Christian traditions, the holy spirit itself was viewed as feminine. This feminine element was removed under the influence of Greek philosophy that regarded the feminine as imperfect. Driscoll also emphasizes the importance of the struggle between the two hostile brothers (i.e., Christ and Satan) as a key component of the western godhead archetype.

New Thinking Allowed host, Jeffrey Mishlove, PhD, is author of The Roots of Consciousness, Psi Development Systems, and The PK Man. Between 1986 and 2002 he hosted and co-produced the original Thinking Allowed public television series. He is the recipient of the only doctoral diploma in “parapsychology” ever awarded by an accredited university (University of California, Berkeley, 1980). He is also past-president of the non-profit Intuition Network, an organization dedicated to creating a world in which all people are encouraged to cultivate and apply their inner, intuitive abilities.

(Recorded on July 2, 2017)

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