T H E T H E O R Y O F E V E R Y T H I N G
“The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.”
Sigmund Freud |
Freud famously compared human consciousness with an iceberg and this image has become an axiom of modern psychology. Below is a brief selection of charts based on this theme (all are clickable to enlarge).
As you will no doubt notice there doesn't seem to be a consensus within the discipline as to the disposition or proportion of the three components of consciousness (Ego, Super-ego and Id) . Overworked though this analogy is I couldn't resist pushing it to its logical (in my mind) conclusion; beginning with a with a very literal interpretation. |
At its most fundamental everything that you see in these charts is water. The sea is liquid water; the iceberg is solid water; the clouds are water in a gaseous state (the agent of differentiation being temperature the source of which is the sun).
Following the 'iceberg/consciousness' analogy these charts represent consciousness in various states. The lone Jungian amongst the chart makers (above figure 7) equates the sea to the collective unconscious and the iceberg to the individual. But you could take it a stage further and equate the clouds (water vapour) into which the tip of the iceberg protrudes with 'consensus consciousness' (the stuff we all agree to believe in order to get through the day).
Following the 'iceberg/consciousness' analogy these charts represent consciousness in various states. The lone Jungian amongst the chart makers (above figure 7) equates the sea to the collective unconscious and the iceberg to the individual. But you could take it a stage further and equate the clouds (water vapour) into which the tip of the iceberg protrudes with 'consensus consciousness' (the stuff we all agree to believe in order to get through the day).
(The term unconscious - as in personal unconscious and collective unconscious - is essentially meaningless in this context; just because we are unaware of it doesn't mean that it has changed state, so I am going to drop that term where possible.) The three states of consciousness as represented by the iceberg analogy are:
- Consensus consciousness - gaseous/vapour
- Personal consciousness - solid/ice
- Collective consciousness - liquid/water
As individuals we manifest personal consciousness within the environment of consensus consciousness with the majority of our potential hidden from us in the depths of the collective subconscious. At its essence the analogy represents the continum of universal consciousness with minor temporal distortions (us).
Back to the substance of the analogy: ice melts, water vaporises, vapour condenses, water freezes; it's called weather. And if the physical world is merely a shade of the underlying world of collective consciousness then the weather systems down there must be mighty indeed.
Back to the substance of the analogy: ice melts, water vaporises, vapour condenses, water freezes; it's called weather. And if the physical world is merely a shade of the underlying world of collective consciousness then the weather systems down there must be mighty indeed.
These constant changes of state aren't particularly good news for the survival of personal identity. Were it not, that is, for the next refinement of the iceberg analogy.
The ocean is in a constant flux caused by the interactions of pockets of differing temperature. However there is stability within the fluctuation. Ocean currents, for instance, are a constant features. I believe that within the 'ocean of consciousness' there is a tendency to coalescence and that 'thought' is the agency that works this magic (after all thought is just consciousness directed to a purpose). As magicians we take the ability to create 'thought forms' as an article of faith.
The ocean is in a constant flux caused by the interactions of pockets of differing temperature. However there is stability within the fluctuation. Ocean currents, for instance, are a constant features. I believe that within the 'ocean of consciousness' there is a tendency to coalescence and that 'thought' is the agency that works this magic (after all thought is just consciousness directed to a purpose). As magicians we take the ability to create 'thought forms' as an article of faith.
And if this means that we are self-creating thought forms I can live with that. By simply living our lives we constantly reinforce our 'individuation' from 'background consciousness' (whilst bobbing back to the surface with every incarnation).
Thought forms also explain Jung's 'archetypes' along with all the other spiritual entities including gods. Think of the Biblical God paradox; if the God of Abraham was so all powerful why did he demand all that 'worship'. Within the 'ocean of consciousness' analogy the Biblical God behaves like Tinker-bell in Peter Pan. Worship Him and he'll become stronger and more clearly defined. Maybe the Bible simply reveals YHVH in the process of 'individuation'.
Thought forms also explain Jung's 'archetypes' along with all the other spiritual entities including gods. Think of the Biblical God paradox; if the God of Abraham was so all powerful why did he demand all that 'worship'. Within the 'ocean of consciousness' analogy the Biblical God behaves like Tinker-bell in Peter Pan. Worship Him and he'll become stronger and more clearly defined. Maybe the Bible simply reveals YHVH in the process of 'individuation'.
Neat though the ice/water/vapour analogy is there is something a little unsatisfying (no criticism; Freud didn't intend his elegantly simple analogy it to be taken to this extreme). The 'animating principle' is missing. Which brings us to the humble jellyfish. It's got many similarities to Freud's iceberg being essentially a packet of water (plus 1% carbon and nitrogen and 3% salt). Yet it is animated and sentient (albeit at a primitive level). It is also capable of growth and can rise and sink in the water column (analogous to collective unconscious).
And, completing the analogy, there is only a very slight chemical difference between the fish and the water in which it swims.
And, completing the analogy, there is only a very slight chemical difference between the fish and the water in which it swims.
This is my version of Freud's iceberg analogy. (Okay, it's got something of the H. P. Lovecraft about it)
I start with a very literal interpretation of the iceberg picture.
At its most fundamental, everything that you see in these images is water; but, importantly, in different states. The sea is liquid water; the iceberg is solid water; the clouds are water in a gaseous state. Follow the ice = consciousness analogy and these charts represent consciousness in three states.
I start with a very literal interpretation of the iceberg picture.
At its most fundamental, everything that you see in these images is water; but, importantly, in different states. The sea is liquid water; the iceberg is solid water; the clouds are water in a gaseous state. Follow the ice = consciousness analogy and these charts represent consciousness in three states.