Carl Junge Psyche

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Recommended: Mind and physical body

Jon Ackerley Ms. Kelly ENG 4U1 – 40 04/22/2014 The Equilibrium of Friend and Enemy The human psyche is formed by conflict. The mind is in a constant state of figurative war – subconscious antitheses and opposites vying for control of the conscious self. Psychic cohesion relies on the resolution and balance of these opposites. In his essay On the Nature of the Psyche, Carl Jung delves into the conflict within the psychic spectrum. The most base level of the unconscious (he uses the Gnostic term “hylic” to describe it) focuses on the instinctual and the immediate, temporal world. It exists in direct contrast to the highest level, the pneumatic (another Gnostic title), a “supraconcious” wherein spirituality and intellect reign. Robertson Davies’ novel Fifth Business symbolizes this antithesis in the characters of Boy Staunton and Dunstan Ramsay. Boy represents the materialistic, sex-obsessed lower psychic realm. His attitude towards woman, guilt, and mythology illustrate the manifestation of the hylic level of the psyche. Dunstan is the direct counterpoint to Boy. Where Boy demonstrates a fixation on physical sexuality, Dunstan distances himself from any material sensuality. Where Boy only worships a capitalist god created in his image, Dunstan pursues a world of saints and spirituality. Dunstan is evidently a representation of the pneumatic complex. As the characters personify this psychic contrast, their respective failings reveal another crucial concept of the mind. When consciousness primarily exists in one specific psychic dimension, the psyche is no longer complete. The opposite half goes unrecognized. At the end of the novel, Dunstan eventually has a revelation that continues to elude Boy: establishing equilibrium betw... ... middle of paper ... ...be contained, appearing in Boy’s subconscious desire for escape from the material world his hylic mind thrives in. His death serves as a consequence for living half a life. Boy and Dunstan personify the physical and the spirit, respectively. They illustrate the incomplete nature of their psyche through their imbalanced sexuality and differing interpretations of mythology. By developing a deeper understanding of the physical, Dunstan is able to create equilibrium between the opposing forces. Boy, however, fails to resolve his antithesis by vehemently denying the spiritual realm of his psyche. This inability leads to his psychological suicide and eventual death. Boy and Dunstan illustrate the necessity for an acknowledgement and assimilation of both the hylic and the pneumatic. Without this synthesis between the spirit and the body, the self cannot become whole.

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