Ethics in Media and C.G. Jung's Psychology
For The New School for Social Research Symposium
"Aesthetics and Ethics: Media Philosophy, Literature"
March 19-21, 1997
Introduction
When a colleague of mine at ABC Radio heard the topic for my paper: ethics in media, he said, "that's easy, it'll take less than sixty seconds. All you have to say is, 'Ethics in media? There are none', and walk off the podium." It is easy for someone to conclude, based on the cutthroat-competitive nature of the mass media industry, that there are no ethics to govern it. But that is biased, and inaccurate. Ethics are always at work, and justifications for decisions and actions are always made, in all aspects of life, including the mass media business.
Ethical judgments incorporate conscious decisions as well as unseen and largely unknown unconsciouscomponents of the psyche which influence our ethics and courses of action. It is the psychological aspect of ethics that I wish to contribute to a discussion of ethics and media. A look at the image from a perspective informed by the analytical psychology of C.G. Jung 1will prove valuable to a discussion of ethics in general, and media specifically.
Image and Archetype
Media philosophy continues the discourse on the sign begun by Saussure. It challenges the image. Imagology (Taylor and Saarinen, 1994), a branch of media philosophy, looks at how electronic media shape us and our world. The word 'image' connotes representation: imago Dei (in the image of God), in imitatio, imago, 'the spitting image': bodied and doubled.
IMAGE + MEANING = SYMBOL
When meaning is attached to (objective) images they become (subjective) symbols.
A single image, the Fylfot Cross, known in Byzantium as a Gammadion, is also a Hindu symbol for well-being: the Svastika. Jungian psychology, as part of its methodology, also contributes to the discourse on the image. Jung points out that "consciousness has no direct relation to any material objects. We perceive nothing but images, transmitted to us indirectly by a complicated nervous apparatus
. . . [t]he consequence of this is, that what appears to us as immediate reality consists of carefully processed images, and that, furthermore, we live immediately only in a world of images" (1969, p. 383ff, emphasis mine). He distinguishes between two kinds of images: the images we see in our conscious world (photographs, signs, videos, advertisements, etc.), and those we experience in our unconscious world. Jacob Burkhardt called the latter 'primordial images,' a concept that Jung appropriated and later called Archetypes 2 Archetypes enter our awareness only when they are stimulated (energized) by personal life situations. Having no energy in themselves, we know them only by interpreting their concrete representations (images and effects) in the conscious world.
Plato's Idea, Archetypes, and the Postmodern Trace
The theory of archetypes was not invented by nineteenth and twentieth century historians and psychologists. It stems from Plato's theory of forms and the transcendental eidos (Idea). The Idea, in Plato's sense, is nonmaterial, and of a timeless dimension. We cannot see ideas (archetypes) per se; we know them through direct, immediate, experience. They are analogous to instincts. We find their manifestations in everyday life. These manifestations are re-presentations ". . . that reality which we see only in crude imitations" (Bergson, p. 5).We see them vis-B-vis their effects, which leave traces. These traces (manifestations/representations) are the signs and symbols that constellate in the psyche and are a premise on which Jung's model of the unconscious is based: "We do not know its [the unconscious'] nature in and for itself, but we observe certain effects from whose qualities we venture certain conclusions in regard to the nature of the unconscious psyche" (Jung, 1969, p.287). By analyzing these effects of the unconscious (traces), Jung developed his theory of archetypes. He saw that patterns of behavior exist globally, not only in the animal world, but also as universal human tendencies. These patterns of behavior are a part of the psyche that he labeled the collective unconscious, where ". . . the identity of human nature at the deepest level has its roots" (Neumann, p. 72). Freud's Oedipus complex is such a pattern, as is a mother's cradling of her baby. These patterns represent archetypes, and archetypes, it will be shown, have very much to do with the ideas behind systems of ethics.
Just as we all have our individual concepts of what a father is, a professor, marriage, and a dream vacation, we also have an image (and corresponding archetype) of what constitutes ethical behavior, with our own ideas for a code of ethics. Jung, and those who built upon his efforts, gathered empirical data to form a groundwork for a philosophy of ethics. It is a system based on a psychological understanding of the power and influence of archetypal patterns, from which Erich Neumann hypothesizes a New Ethic (1969). Depth psychology aims to bring to light unconscious motivations that, if left on their own, result in destructive and harmful behavior. These tendencies can usually be traced to repressed feelings and emotions that make up the part of the unconscious which Jung called the Shadow 3 Jung writes, "Moral principles that seem clear and unequivocal from the standpoint of ego-consciousness lose their power of conviction, and therefore their applicability, when we consider the compensatory significance of the shadow in the light of ethical responsibility" (Jung, 1969, p.12).
Responsibility connotes a system of ethics. Jacques Derrida asks how, in full view of history, can responsibility be forgotten? "Historical knowledge occludes, confines or saturates . . . at the heart of this history there is something of an abyss, an abyss that resists totalizing summary" (Derrida, 1995, p.4). This is a "logic of repression that still retains what is denied, surpassed, buried. Repression doesn't destroy, it displaces something from one place to another within the system" (ibid, p. 8). Repressed qualities are, as Derrida indicates, relocated feelings and emotions that were thrown into the depths of the unconscious, condemned to be projected in a shadow-play.
To help keep repressed feelings safely tucked away, the ego dons a mask (persona), a societal role that gives an impression of identity with the community. This simultaneously hides the repressed qualities, which are, instead, cast onto others (scapegoating). The persona is a psychological construct designed to help one fit in with the local culture by covering the person's individual uniqueness. The problem of identity is central in the eyes of postmodern philosophy and depth psychology. Derrida reminds us that this is also a psychology of the abyss Tiefen-psychologie] (Derrida, 1996, p. 27).
As with Jung, Derrida's 'aporia of responsibility,' as he calls it, the loss of knowing where to begin examining the notion of responsibility, starts at "the place and subject of all responsibility, namely, the person" (Derrida, 1995, p.24). He quotes Jan Patoka's description of "the responsible man [who], as such, is a self, an individual that doesn't coincide with any role that he might happen to assume," and adds, in his own brackets, "[an interior and invisible self, a secret self at bottom]" (ibid, p. 52). Let us follow this important thread and continue to explore the relationship between ethics and personal responsibility, while working to pull repressions out of the shadow, toward a new system of ethics.
Ethics, Archetypes, and the Tao
A look to the East can help us establish a new ethic. There we can find the philosophy of the Implicit Order (Hayashi, 1992) C commonly known as the Tao. A Taoist perspective holds that there is a cosmological path, or 'Way,' which is a basis to understand man's relation to his world. The relationship between archetypes and ethics is strengthened by introducing the Taoist concept of an implicit order. The Taoist 'order' is not at all a fixed framework. It is a view which holds that the unique qualities of the relationship between the observer and the observed are what constellate one's understanding of cosmological order. One can find a link between this Chinese tradition, depth psychology, and postmodern philosophy.
While postmodernism continues to develop as a fragmented (non)system, new strands of the rhizome emerge. One such offshoot, constructivism, as described by the psychologist Polly Young-Eisendrath (1995), shows how a postmodern philosophy and archetypal psychology blend: "Constructivism does not reject universals such as archetypes or universal emotions, but it assumes that both the concepts and experiences to which they refer come directly from human interpretation." From this viewpoint there is no conflict in acknowledging the existence of the eidos (archetype) while recognizing an individual's uniqueness (difference). Constructivism implies the understanding that an image does not mean the same thing to all people. Neither does the Taoist notion of universal order. When we recognize a symbol, we are intuitively 'seeing' a unique order that is implicit in the relationship between the image and us. The image's specific form, Jung says, "is due just as much to the a priori psychic disposition, namely the archetype" (Jung, 1969, p. 274, n. 17). The order which individuals create has no existence, per se, it is determined by the psychic qualities attributed to it by the observer.
Ethics in The Media of the Postmodern
The challenge to creative media users and producers is to transcend limitations of present day technologies which are limited to sight and sound. Virtual-reality cybersuits and olfactory (taste and smell) synthesizers will make it possible to engage the audience in new ways, of which the kitschy sensurround and dorama were only precursors. Myron Krueger, president of Artificial Reality, Inc., suggests that "the synthesizer could be used as an olfactory performance instrument [that would] analyze scents . . . encode descriptions of them . . . and synthesize equivalent odors" (Krueger, 1991, p.4). New technologies allow media producers to engage their audiences through tactile means, enabling a leap from imagination and interpretation to lifelike sensations. Like Alex, the perpetrator of 'ultraviolence' in A Clockwork Orange who was made, with the help of drugs and technology, to virtually experience what his victims felt, new media technologies can create a similar response via sensation synthesizers.
To make the audience feel the essence of a moral issue, the tools available to media producers were descriptive narrative, visuals, and sound. What are the implications of donning a cybersuit, jacking in 4, and experiencing a virtually real kick in the groin or lash of a bullwhip? Postmodern questions regarding ethics and media ask which character you will be when choosing your version of a virtual reality hyperplay? Will your glove be the oppressor's hand or your cyber-suit make yours feel like the body of the victim? Will you feel the thrill of the knife or its cut?
Silence: A Symbol for the New Ethic
How can we come to better terms with the forces that dominate our actions? First we must acknowledge the unconscious power inherent in our relationships with images. To accomplish this, the Chinese sages encourage us to do nothing, a meditation technique par excellence, and the essence of the Taoist principle of wu-wei. It consists of a listening to the silence that returns us to the image before it becomes a personal symbol, which will lead to a foundation for making informed decisions about ethical behavior.
Depth psychology, as Karl Jaspers describes it, "illumines . . . [and] implies an involvement with contents and viewpoints, the experience of which influences the whole outlook of the individual" (Jaspers, p.41). It engenders a revaluation of an individual's responsibility toward hirself and hir fellow beings. It clears the way for a transformation from one who is at the mercy of unconscious drives to one who is on the way towards being, what Wolfgang Schirmacher calls, homo generator. This, he suggests, is "a substantial beginning, unique but not original, self-care without egotism"(Schirmacher, p.76, emphasis mine). Unique but not original reflects the postmodern understanding of life as simulation, as image, a trace of the archetypal. To comport oneself without egotism, is not a way of being that will happen of its own. This starts after one has begun to deal with one's unconscious and the reflections of its shadow. Highlighting the imperative of coming to terms with the unconscious, Jung writes, "Confrontation with an archetype or an instinct is an ethical problem of the first magnitude, the urgency of which is felt only by people who find themselves faced with the need to assimilate the unconscious and integrate their personalities" (Jung, 1969, p.208). Such persons have made a commitment to the path of individuation, which calls for the merging of conscious and unconscious. That union, according to Jung, is "the core of the ethical problem" (Jung, 1949, p. 18).
By giving attention to these images of the psyche we open an opportunity for dialog with them. The typical Western mentality has as its starting point the notion of willful intention, exemplified by Goethe's Faust: "In the beginning was the act!"5 Even in regard to ethics, as Derrida reminds us, "The concept of responsibility has . . . always implied involvement in action, doing, a praxis, a decision" (Derrida, 1995, p. 25). The decision of responsibility in Neumann's New Ethic calls for us to, first, simply consider the images that most often influence us to respond, to open the possibility for an alternative to the spontaneous impulse to act, which is so characteristic of our time. He writes, "responsibility now has to be carried by the totality of the personality, not simply by the ego as the center of consciousness, [but even for unconscious processes (see p. 75)] . . . the moral problem of the individual is constellated in the first place by the coexistence of ego and shadow" (Neumann, p. 93).
Responsibility is response to a call. The new ethic uses silence to help us listen closely, so that we can hear from where and when the call C the word C the command C the order comes. For Derrida, "Arkh` names at once the commencement and the commandment" (Derrida, 1996, p.1). The archetypal order is, however, neither a beginning nor a command. It is a way to find ourselves and our world.
Conclusion
Elements of our ethics lurk in the shadow. As writers and media producers have done for millennia we will continue to use media to address this dark recess. Because of the increased contact with electronic media and their images in these New Times, as he calls them, Paul Duncum sees a deterioration of individual ethics and suggests a reorientation of our perceptual habits: "Our current difficulties may not lie with the proliferation of imagery but our lack of psychological preparedness" (Duncum, p.72). If we look to media to help build a new ethic, the appropriate corresponding psychological condition of which Duncum speaks requires the courage to embrace our own shadows, rather than reflect them on to other screens. Jung writes, "If you imagine someone who is brave enough to withdraw all his projections, then you get an individual who is conscious of a pretty thick shadow . . . Such a man knows that whatever is wrong in the world is in himself, and if he only learns to deal with his own shadow he has done something real for the world" (Jung, 1938, p.140).
The integration of the shadow and a correlative understanding of the power of archetypal images are needed for making well-grounded ethical decisions. There is a great potential for new, multi-sensory media to help this process. The decision whether to use them for this purpose, or not, will dictate the prognosis for the development of a new and, as our world shows, greatly needed ethic.
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Sources
Bergson, Henri, 1935. the Two Sources of Morality and Religion, trans. Audra and Brereton. New York: Henry Holt and Company.
Derrida, Jacques, 1995. The Gift of Death, trans. David Wills, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
_____, 1996. Archive Fever, trans. Eric Prenowitz, Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
Duncum, Paul, 1997. "Art Education for New Times" in Studies in Art Education, vol.8, no. 2.
Hayashi, Michiyoshi, 1993. "The Experience of the Unseen: From Image to Ethic," in Eranos 61-1992, Ascona: Spring Journal, Inc.
Jaspers, Karl, 1964. The Nature of Psychotherapy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Jung, Carl Gustav, 1969. The Structure and Dynamics of the Psyche. Collected Works, Volume 8. Trans. R.F.C. Hull, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
_____, 1949. Foreword to Erich Neumann: Depth Psychology and a New Ethic, trans, R.F.C. Hull, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969. Also in CW vol 18.
_____, 1964. Civilization in Transition, CW 10, Trans. R.F.C. Hull, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
_____, 1938. "Psychology and Religion" in Psychology and Religion: West and East. CW 11. Trans. R.F.C. Hull, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Krueger, Myron, 1991. Living on the Edge A paper delivered at the Summit 2000 Conference, New York: The Fragrance Foundation.
Neumann, Erich, 1969. Depth Psychology and the New Ethic, trans. Eugene Rolfe. London: Hodder and Stroughton, Ltd.
Schirmacher, Wolfgang, 1994. "Homo Generator: Media and Postmodern Technology." In Culture on the Brink, Bender and Druckery, eds., Seattle: Bay Press.
Taylor, Mark and Saarinen, Esa, 1994. Imagologies. New York, Routledge.
Young-Eisendrath, Polly, 1995. "Struggling with Jung: The Value of Uncertainty" in
The Round Table Review March/April 1995. Published online: 22 September 1996.
Notes
In the Shadow of the Image Royce Froehlich
1. A discussion of ethics from the point of view of depth psychology can, "quite easily be transposed to Freud and Adler C at least in its initial stages" (Neumann, p. 77). We will be extending beyond those initial stages in this paper, and navigating through a course that is decidedly Jungian. It is fair to say, however, that this discussion of ethics is not limited to a Jungian framework, although it takes its bearings from it. (Back to text)
2 ."The concept of the archetype . . . is derived from the repeated observation that, for instance, the myths and fairy tales of world literature contain definite motifs which crop up everywhere. We meet these same motifs in the fantasies, dreams, deliria, and delusions of individuals living today. These typical images and associations are what I call archetypal ideas. The more vivid they are, the more they will be colored by particularly strong feeling- tones . . . They impress, influence, and fascinate us. They have their origin in the archetype, which in itself is an irrepresentable, unconscious, pre-existent form that seems to be part of the inherited structure of the psyche and can therefore manifest itself spontaneously anywhere, at any time. Because of its instinctual nature, the archetype underlies the feeling-toned complexes and shares their autonomy" (Jung, 1964, p. 449, from the essay, "A Psychological View of Conscience"). (Back to text)
3 . John Sanford's definition of the Shadow:
"The term 'the Shadow' as a psychological concept, refers to the dark, feared, unwanted side of our personality. In developing a conscious personality we all seek to embody in ourselves a certain image of what we want to be like. Those qualities that could have become part of this conscious personality, but are not in accord with the person we want to be [ego ideal], are rejected and constitute the shadow personality" (emphasis mine). Our rejected C repressed C attributes are projected on to others who conveniently become targets on which we dump our shadow qualities" (1981, p.49). (Back to text)
4 ."Jack in" a phrase coined by William Gibson, in his novel Neuromancer, refers to the act of hooking up to a virtual reality computer and entering into a cyber-world. (Back to text)
5 . "Am Anfang war die Tat!" Line number 1237. Tat, translated variously as deed or act. (Back to text)
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