Neumann believed that all of this places consciousness in a condition of decay and thereby exposes the superego—or what we call the structure of conscious morality—to the possibility of collapse. The only morality that may remain is then a superficial morality, learned either through shallow religious instruction or through social education in school and family. Such an unexamined and superficial moral system can easily come under the influence and control of other unconscious impulses.

Neumann believed that consciousness is connected to the unconscious by two important bridges: sexual desires and impulses of anger and violence. Freud believed that our consciousness is entirely controlled by these two strings that connect the unconscious to consciousness and move it like a puppet. Under Jung’s influence, however, Neumann regarded such domination as possible only through the collapse of individuality, consciousness, freedom of thought, and the independence of personal beliefs. If these two strings take control of consciousness, then in practice our interest in life and behaviour becomes confined to what is pleasurable.

Finally, our hero’s journey—which lies at the centre of the collective unconscious and of our understanding of the evolution of individual archetypes—appears more difficult than at any previous point in history. Not only do we increasingly accept mediocrity and resemblance to others, but we also face an enormous, formless mass that is far more powerful than our individuality, and many of us eventually surrender to a sense of helplessness. In the myth of the hero’s journey, the individual enters an unknown world, overcomes the immense difficulties encountered there, becomes a hero, and returns to their people to share the hero’s growth and achievement. In the modern world, however, it is increasingly difficult not only to find individuals who still believe in the hero’s journey, but also for the individual to return and be recognised as a hero, because the tribe has expanded into the formless masses of millions who inhabit large cities.

Aydin Areta