Psyche, Order, and Structure

Before I begin, I would like to comment that the blog format really helps get ideas moving, as it seems to be less constricting than trying to write for a journal or book, but a little more demanding than just note-taking.

I reviewed some Jungian models of the psyche and found that the common view of the psyche involves the collective and personal unconsciousness as areas of chaos and consciousness as an area of order. The issue of structure initially is taken to be the boundaries between these areas and the ego. Going a little farther into Jungian analysis, we find symbols are the structures which connect the subconscious to the conscious and provide a sense of living order in the psyche, hence Jung's emphasis on symbolic interpretation of dreams. This order is not a static order as it is not a collection of facts but living references to important life issues.

Structure and order are very close to each other in meaning but structure seems imply support and being able to grasp where order is more of a reference to the rate of chang - a sense that things are static and not flying about in a state of chaos. A set of blocks stacked together can be ordered by any number of characteristics (size, color, shape, etc.) , but may not provide much support. And a framework can support weight but not be very ordered - for example, a tree can support a treehouse but is less ordered than the beams in a building. How would one select symbols to support versus order the psyche? Is support better than order? Does structure also shelter or provide containment? In many cases, yes.