C. G. Jung brought to psychology the recognition that the unfolding of a human life is at a deep level a spiritual journey. He also recognized that our individual psychological unfolding is embedded within larger, ever-evolving historical developments that also shape our personal journeys, and that reflect a kind of collective spiritual evolution. Finally, he saw that informing both the individual psyche and the collective evolution are powerful archetypal principles and forces that deeply influence human experience and behavior. In this presentation, I would like to explore how we can understand the complex interplay of these three important levels of meaning and influence, so we might gain a more profound perspective on the deeper character of human life and experience, especially in our own dramatic, challenging era.
Richard Tarnas is Professor Emeritus at the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, where he founded the graduate program in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness. He also taught archetypal studies and depth psychology at Pacifica Graduate Institute, and was formally the director of programs and education at Esalen Institute. He is the author of The Passion of the Western Mind, a history of the Western world view from the ancient Greek to the postmodern that is widely used in universities; and Cosmos and Psyche, which received the Book of the Year Prize from the Scientific and Medical Network. Richard Tarnas is a past president of the International Transpersonal Association and a former member of the Board of Governors for the Jung Institute of San Francisco.
