Living archetypes : the selected works of Anthony Stevens

211 Pages·2016·1.065 MB·English

by  Jung, C. G., Stevens, Anthony

Living Archetypes
Anthony Stevens has devoted a lifetime to modernizing our understanding of the
archetypes within us, relating them to conceptual developments in a variety of
scientific disciplines, such as the patterns of behaviour of behavioural ecology,
the species-specific behavioural systems of Bowlby’s attachment theory, the deep
structures of Chomskian linguistics, and the modules of evolutionary psychology,
to name but a few.
This selection of papers and chapters from the course of Stevens’ career, all
lucidly written and argued, highlight episodes in the progress of his quest to place
archetypal theory on a sound scientific foundation. As a whole, Living Archetypes
examines how archetypes are activated in the life history of all of us, how arche-
typal imperatives may be fulfilled or thwarted by our living circumstances, how they
manifest in our dreams, symbols, fantasies and symptoms, and how appreciating
their dynamics can generate insights of enormous therapeutic power.
Living Archetypes: The selected works of Anthony Stevens provides an invalu-
able resource for Jungian psychotherapists, psychologists, academics, and students
committed to extending the evolutionary approach to psychology and psychiatry
and understanding the dynamic significance of archetypes.
Anthony Stevens has spent his professional life working as a Jungian analyst,
psychiatrist, and writer. He is a graduate of Oxford University and in addition to
a Doctorate in Medicine has two degrees in Psychology. He is a Senior Member
of the Independent Group of Analytical Psychologists and a Member of the
Royal College of Psychiatrists. His previous books include Archetype Revisited:
An Updated Natural History of the Self and Evolutionary Psychiatry: A New
Beginning, with John Price.
World Library of Mental Health series
The World Library of Mental Health celebrates the important contributions to
mental health made by leading experts in their individual fields. Each author has
compiled a career-long collection of what they consider to be their finest pieces:
extracts from books, journals, articles, major theoretical and practical contributions,
and salient research findings.
For the first time ever the work of each contributor is presented in a single
volume so readers can follow the themes and progress of their work and identify
the contributions made to, and the development of, the fields themselves.
Each book in the series features a specially written introduction by the
contributor giving an overview of his career, contextualizing his selection within the
development of the field, and showing how his own thinking developed over time.
Rationality and Pluralism – The selected works of Windy Dryden
By Windy Dryden
Attachments: Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, Psychoanalysis –
The selected works of Jeremy Holmes
By Jeremy Holmes
The Price of Love – The selected works of Colin Murray Parkes
By Colin Murray Parkes
Passions, Persons, Psychotherapy, Politics – The selected works
of Andrew Samuels
By Andrew Samuels
Towards a Radical Redefinition of Psychology – The selected works
of Miller Mair
Edited by David Winter and Nick Reed
Journeys in Psychoanalysis – The selected works of Elizabeth Spillius
Living Archetypes – The selected works of Anthony Stevens
By Anthony Stevens
Soul: Treatment and Recovery – The selected works of Murray Stein
By Murray Stein
A Developmentalist’s Approach to Research, Theory, and Therapy –
The selected works of Joseph Lichtenberg
By Joseph D. Lichtenberg
Praise for Archetype Revisited: An Updated Natural History of the Self (2002):
‘This is a very welcome arrival after nearly twenty years since the first edition. The
new publication is not only a new edition of the original work, but we have the
pleasure of reading an update at the end of each chapter. Dr Anthony Stevens is
revisiting his Natural History of the Self. . . . This book I hope will become a stand-
ard text for all budding Jungian analysts. More than that. It should be read by all
in clinical and academic psychology and psychiatry so as to open the minds and
traditions of what is all too often a doctrinaire and dogmatic education.’
John Stewart, Harvest
‘Reading this book is an enlightening experience. Stevens draws the reader into a
wide landscape of exploration which brings with it new and interesting insights
and connections. He has endeavoured to cover all aspects of what is meant by
the term ‘archetype’ and to bring the reader up to date with current research and
ideas. . . . The book itself is an archetypal exploration of the spectrum of what it
means to be human and to live and express humanness and, as such, is an impor-
tant contribution which is well worth reading.’
Journal of Analytical Psychology, no. 48, 2003
Praise for Evolutionary Psychiatry: A New Beginning (1996):
‘When the first edition of this book appeared, I rated it among the top 25 books
of the decade. An evolutionary perspective, not yet a dominant theme in orthodox
psychiatry, has the potential to integrate physiology, psychology, psychoanalysis
and psychopathology. In the revised edition of this highly original book, the authors
further document how such a perspective can enrich the clinician’s approach to
mental disorders. I highly recommend it as first reading to those uninitiated in
evolutionary psychology and psychiatry.’
Hagop S. Akiskal, M.D., Professor of Psychiatry
and Director of International Mood Center,
University of California at San Diego, and Editor-in-Chief,
Journal of Affective Disorders
‘In my view, this attempt at a new paradigm is one of the most fruitful developments
in psychiatry in recent years.’
Dr Anthony Storr, Financial Times,
November 23–24, 1996
Praise for Archetype: A Natural History of the Self (1990):
‘A remarkable book . . . gives us a kind of Rosetta Stone by which to translate the
concepts of Jungian depth-psychology into those of anthropology, ethology, socio-
biology, psychology and (even) neurophysiology. It is extraordinarily successful
in this ambition, overweening and hopeless as one might have supposed it to be.’
Dr Eliot Slater, December 1982
‘Dr Anthony Stevens has made a major contribution to Jungian studies as well as
indicating the common ground between seemingly incompatible disciplines.’
Dr Glin Bennet,
The British Medical Journal, February 19th, 1983
‘Stevens writes not only with clarity but with refreshing personal commitment . . .
we are offered so daring an attempt at synthesis, one that in years to come may well
be seen as seminal.’
Ronald Higgins, Resurgence, September–October, 1982
‘At last, a well-written definitive book on C.G. Jung’s archetypes.’
Times-News, September 17, 1982
‘Like Jung, Stevens writes with flashes of brilliance and insight.’
Kirkus Reviews
‘. . . helps to open up an approach to human nature which has relevance to literally
everything we do, say, or feel . . . the best general guide so far to the astonishing
work done in recent years on how different functions of the psyche are physically
centered in the different parts of the brain.’
Christopher Booker,
Sunday Telegraph, April 25, 1982
‘Jung was not a good exponent of his ideas and I recommend Dr Stevens’ book as
one of the best introductions to his thought and its practical implications.’
Dr Anthony Storr, Times Literary Supplement
Praise for On Jung (1990):
‘From the beginning of this book, the reader is aware of being in the presence of a sea-
soned and highly knowledgeable scholar and practitioner. . . . The writing is clear and
graceful. . . . This work is distinctive, original in its organization, and pleasing to read.’
James Jarrett, University of California, Berkeley
‘This is an excellent book. . . . Many potential readers of Jung feel intimidated by
Jung’s style and the sheer bulk of his collected works. They could do no better than
to turn to Anthony Stevens for enlightenment. He is an exceptionally clear expositor
of Jung’s thought.’
Anthony Storr, The Independent
‘In On Jung Anthony Stevens offers an informative and clear explanation of the
basic principles of Jungian psychology. . . . Stevens skillfully employs object rela-
tions theory in his analysis. . . . His treatment of the history of Jung’s family and
the impact of its dynamics on Jung’s personality is refreshingly honest.’
John-Raphael Staude, The Times Literary Supplement
‘Quite simply, this is quite the best introduction to Jungian psychology that I have
seen. A must for anyone who would want to understand Jung’s work. . . . The reader
is treated to both a concise statement of Carl Gustav Jung’s theories of life-stage
development and a parallel narrative of Jung’s experiences as he moved through each
of these stages. Stevens’s unique method of combining a primer of Jung life-stage the-
ory with a biography of Jung is an effective introduction to the man and his work.’
LogosWord Webstore Product Reviews
‘On Jung was chosen by Deirdre Bair, Jung’s eminent biographer, as one of her
Top Ten Jungian Books. She wrote: ‘On Jung by Anthony Stevens [is] a splendid
overview of Jung’s personal and professional development. An excellent introduc-
tion to Jung’s life and the origin of his ideas.’
Guardian Unlimited, Books
Living Archetypes
The selected works of Anthony Stevens
Anthony Stevens
First published 2016
by Routledge
27 Church Road, Hove, East Sussex, BN3 2FA
And by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2016 Anthony Stevens
The right of Anthony Stevens to be identified as author of this work has been
asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in
any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing
from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or
registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation
without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Stevens, Anthony.
[Works. Selections]
Living archetypes : the selected works of Anthony Stevens / Anthony Stevens.
pages cm
Includes index.
1. Archetype (Psychology) 2. Jung, C. G. (Carl Gustav), 1875-1961.
3. Psychoanalysis. 4. Self. I. Title.
BF175.5.A72S754 2003
150.19′54—dc23
2015002422
ISBN: 978-1-138-81767-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-74554-1 (ebk)
Typeset in Sabon
by Swales & Willis Ltd, Exeter, Devon, UK
CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ix
General introduction 1
1 Personal introduction to Archetype: A Natural History of
the Self (1982) 5
2 Attachment behaviour, separation anxiety, and stranger anxiety
in polymatrically reared infants, from The Origins of Human
Social Relations, edited by H.R. Schaffer (1971) 19
3 The mother, from Archetype: A Natural History of the Self (1982) 25
4 On the frustration of archetypal intent, from Archetype:
A Natural History of the Self (1982) 37
5 Attenuation of the mother-child bond and male initiation
into adult life, Journal of Adolescence (1981) 45
6 The stages of life, Chapter 3 of Jung: A Very Short Introduction
(1994/2001) 60
7 From The Two Million-Year-Old Self (1993) 76
8 Jungian therapy in theory and practice, excerpt from
The Talking Cure (2013) 93
9 The poetry machine, from Private Myths:
Dreams and Dreaming (1995) 103
10 Dreams in therapy, from Private Myths:
Dreams and Dreaming (1995) 108
11 From Ariadne’s Clue: A Guide to the Symbols of
Humankind (1998) 132
12 From The Archetypes, Chapter 3 of The Handbook of Jungian
Psychology: Theory, Practice and Applications, edited by
Renos K. Papadopoulos (2006) 153
13 From The Roots of War and Terror (2004) 159
14 Personal afterword, from Archetype Revisited (2002) 179
15 Towards a science of humanity, from Evolutionary
Psychiatry (2000) 186
Comprehensive list of publications by Anthony Stevens 190
Glossary 192
Index 197
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to express my thanks to the following: to Routledge for permission to
use material from Archetype: A Natural History of the Self (1982), from Archetype
Revisited: An Updated Natural History of the Self (2002), from Evolutionary
Psychiatry: A New Beginning (2000), and from The Handbook of Jungian
Psychology (2006); to Elsevier for permission to include my chapter on attachment
behaviour from The Origins of Human Social Behaviour (1971) and my paper on
the attenuation of the mother bond in The Journal of Adolescence (1981); to the
Oxford University Press for permission to include my chapter on the stages of life
from Jung: A Very Short Introduction (2001); to Texas A&M University Press
for permission to include material from The Two Million-year-old Self (1993); to
Bloomsbury Publishing for permission to include Chapter 2 from The Roots of
War and Terror (2004); to Inner City Books for permission to include material
from Volume 1 of The Talking Cure (2013); to Hamish Hamilton and to the
Harvard University Press for permission to include two chapters from Private
Myths: Dreams and Dreaming (1995); and to Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, and
Princeton University Press for permission to include material from Ariadne’s Clue:
A Guide to the Symbols of Humankind (1998). My special thanks are due to Kate
Hawes of Routledge for commissioning me to make this selection of papers and
chapters from my work, and to Susannah Frearson, Susan Wickenden, and Caroline
Watson for their cheerful expertise in seeing the process through to publication.