Archetype Revisited: An Updated Natural History of the Self

Studies in Jungian Psychology by Jungian Analysts #105

by Anthony Stevens

A Natural History of the Self, first published in 1982 was a ground-breaking book; the first to explore the connections between Jung's archetypes and evolutionary disciplines such as ethology and sociobiology, and an excellent introduction to the archetypes in theory and practical application as well.
C.G. Jung's 'archetypes of the collective unconscious' have traditionally remained the property of analytical psychology, and have commonly been dismissed as 'mystical' by scientists. But Jung himself described them as biological entities, which, if they exist at all, must be amenable to empirical study. In the work of Bowlby and Lorenz, and in recent studies of the bilateral brain, Dr Anthony Stevens has discovered the key to opening up this long-ignored scientific approach to the archetypes, originally envisaged by Jung himself. At last, in a creative leap made possible by the cross-fertilisation of several specialist disciplines, psychiatry can be integrated with psychology, with ethology and biology. The result is an immensely enriched science of human behaviour.
In this revised, updated edition, Anthony Stevens considers the enormous cultural, social and intellectual changes that have taken place in the past 20 years, and
* An updated chapter on The Archetypal Masculine and Feminine, reflecting recent research findings and developments in the thinking of feminists
* Commentary on the intrusion of neo-Darwinian thinking into psychology and psychiatry
* Analysis of what has happened to the archetype in the past 20 years in terms of our understanding of it and our responses to it

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction, Psychoanalysis, Philosophy, Science

400 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Anthony Stevens is a well known Jungian analyst and psychiatrist who has written extensively on psychotherapy and psychology.

Stevens has two degrees in psychology and a doctorate in medicine from Oxford University. He studied for a time under John Bowlby. He is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Independent Group of Analytical Psychologists. He lectures regularly in the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland and elsewhere.

Stevens is the author or co-author of many books and articles on psychology, evolutionary psychiatry, Jungian analysis and the significance of archetypal imagery.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Derrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

An occasionally interesting combination of Jungian psychology and evolutionary psychology, punctuated by the author's right-wing views on the importance of traditional family values.

[Jon Frisk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book covering much ground and giving a nuanced view and empirical evidence on some touchy subjects - yet it will surely rub some people the wrong way.

The updated sections at the end of each chapter bring relevance and show how well many of the views and theories have held up. Now 10 years later seeing the division and deterioration of society, these sentiments are truer than ever. I’m curious what both Jung and the Stevens would have to say about the current state of the world.

The last chapter on finding balance struck me in particular, showing clearly what has gone awry in our society and how western left-hemispherical-thinking has infected most of the world and the consequences this has had.

Somewhere there’s hope to be found, I guess, but we should start with ourselves.

[Tory · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. Could just keep rereading and rereading and would get more out of it each time.

Brilliant.