Archetype and Character

Archetype and Character introduces a new typology based on unconscious motivations. It relies on C. G. Jung's description of the unconscious as composed of a personal and an archetypal layer. The book describes four archetypes, Power, Eros, Matter and Spirit, as the fundamental motivations that define human attitudes and behavior. This archetypal-motivational typology is contrasted with Jung's and its popular version, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, which rely solely on the conscious functions of thinking, feeling, sensation, and intuition. The book outlines eight personality types based on the extraverted and introverted deployment of the above four archetypes. It then applies these typological categories to Freud, Adler and Jung so as to highlight heretofore neglected aspects of their personalities and to understand the reasons for their personal and theoretical disputes. A concluding chapter summarizes the practical findings, cultural implications, and theoretical insights gained from this manner of understanding the basic principles that motivate human behavior. An Addendum provides a self-administered Archetypal-Motivational Typology Scale that makes the concepts used in the book relevant and meaningful to the reader.