Monterey Peninsula Friends of C.G. Jung

Mimesis, Violence, and Saving Grace in Girard, Jung, and Gebser—with Paul Wrightman, Lisa Maroski, and John Dotson

Last November, Paul presented an overview of the thought of René Girard. Tonight, we revisit Girard’s theory of mimesis, mimetic desire, metaphysical desire, and the centrality of violence and scapegoating in human cultures. Taking up these themes, we will engage Jung’s theory of instinct and archetypes along with Jean Gebser’s description of archaic, magic, and mythic modes of consciousness. Each of these thinkers is deeply concerned about the suicidal tendency of human beings, and all
three refer to the spiritual, or saving grace, in specifically Christian forms.

Jung labored assiduously, but not always successfully, to differentiate the god-image as symbol—to be understood psychologically—from theological approaches to understanding the reality of the divine. Tonight, we will survey some key passages from Answer to Job, a text that Jung wrote late in life and that he considered to be of crucial importance to understanding how the god-image is transforming in our times.

The Earth Has a Soul: Jung on Nature, Technology, and Modern Life, gathers writings of Jung, edited by Meredith Sabini. Our discussions are focused by the acute awareness of our deepening planetary crisis, while
consulting Jung for such insights as “Nature, psyche, and life appear to me like divinity unfolded—what more could I ask for?” This is a monthly discussion group. Drop-ins are welcome.

In the days when you could, I made a Faustian pact. As the years pass, I may have blown my end and the Accounts Payable date is looming. But what if the magic had actually happened and I pursued it fully? The answer lies with Key to the Highway, a wild, musical hero’s journey through the Australian Outback to Perth, India, Bangkok, Borneo, and Rio. Discovery of a mysterious blues harp/harmonica by a bayside creek, outside Melbourne, takes the main character, Chris Hunter, on a mystical journey to self-discovery, in which his reality morphs with mythological gods, heroes and villains, manifested as bikers, prophets, gun runners, shady businessmen, neo-Nazis and miners. The quest is disrupted when Chris abandons his Orphic gift, as a cynical journalist and is spirited back to the bland suburbia he tried to evade. Redemption comes when he pursues Canberra's suppressed esoteric secret in a fight against the Alt Right. We can discuss parallels with epic heroes
including Odysseus, King Arthur, and Rama or their modern equivalents in Mad Max, Star Wars and The Matrix.

Richard Andrews was born in Germany of Polish refugees. He grew up in
Australia before migrating to Quebec with his Canadian muse. In between, he chalked up more than thirty years as a journalist, foreign correspondent, diplomat, and freelancer. An award-winning editor, he writes for newspapers, travel magazines, foundations, industry journals and IT companies. Richard also teaches part time at McGill University after working in China and Malaysia, with writing stays in India, Brazil, Lesbos, and Malta. He now lives on a former vineyard in Quebec's Eastern Townships.