ABSTRACT
A central problem with Carl Jung’s archetype concept is that many different entities are denoted as archetypal: inner figures, mental processes, problematic situations between people, collective behaviour patterns, and ‘instinctive’ reactions. This chapter explores a set of central tenets about the archetype from the different conceptualisations in order to then confront them with empirical research. Cross-cultural research shows that there is an inherent, universal set of clearly distinct basic emotions, which are already present in infants and which are also clearly recognisable from person to person, regardless of cultural differences. Linguistic research shows that children have innate abilities to learn languages more easily. Jung argues that archetypes can be located in the genetic make-up of human beings. The archetypal story/process patterns are passed on through cultural transmission in the course of socialisation as part of the cultural canon.
