collective unconscious

American  

noun

1. (in Jungian psychology) inborn unconscious psychic material common to humankind, accumulated by the experience of all preceding generations.

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collective unconscious British  

noun

1. psychol (in Jungian psychological theory) a part of the unconscious mind incorporating patterns of memories, instincts, and experiences common to all mankind. These patterns are inherited, may be arranged into archetypes, and are observable through their effects on dreams, behaviour, etc

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collective unconscious Cultural  

1. Memories of mental patterns that are shared by members of a single culture or, more broadly, by all human beings; originally proposed by the psychologist Carl Jung to explain psychological traits shared by all people. He theorized that the collective unconscious appears as archetypes: patterns and symbols (see also symbol) that occur in dreams, mythology, and fairy tales.

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Etymology

Origin of collective unconscious

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

At a time when conversations around self-discovery are surging, the analyst’s theories on the collective unconscious, archetypes and shadow are increasingly influencing the work of social media-savvy healers, therapists and life coaches.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 24, 2024

Rather, each generation invents new yokai, many of them channeling a collective unconscious of present-day anxieties.

From New York Times • Apr. 16, 2023

We attribute the gap to two major factors: shared information bias and collective unconscious.

From Scientific American • Jun. 27, 2022

I believe very much in the collective unconscious ...

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2022

They may be as essential for society as mythology itself, as loaded with symbols, and as necessary for the architecture of our collective unconscious.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas