Monday, June 14, 2010

James Hillman's "The Soul's Code"

James Hillman, the author of "The Soul's Code", spent many years as a student of Carl G. Jung and helped develop Archetypal Psychology. Archetypal Psychology is a branch of Psychology that asserts that people from all times and all cultures share a number of similar symbols, meanings and mythologies. These mythologies are represented in symbols that seem to reappear over thousands of years, in paintings, religious rituals, dances, writings and myths. One of the basic concepts rests upon the assertion that there is a collective unconscious that connects all people, places and times with these archetypes or symbols.
Hillman starts and ends this book with a concept he calls the Acorn Theory. This Theory is an idea that Hillman has conjured out of years of experience as a psychologist, student of Carl G. Jung and as an interested party in this world. The acorn theory delves deeply into a restructuring of the soul as we know it. The acorns in Hillman's theory are like the acorns that spawn monumental trees that grow from the sometimes rich sometimes infertile soils and regions of the earth; trees that live in all places, countries, lands, regions and environments. To simplify the theory, each person has their own individual and special acorn that has a predestined mission in life, well before birth or even inception.
"The acorn theory suggests a primitive solution. It says: Your daimon selected both the egg and the sperm, as it selected their carriers, called 'parents.' Their union results from your necessity ---and not the other way around." -Hillman
I know, this sounds like destiny, which reminds one of determinism, which leads to no free will, which leads to "why should I even go outside today if everything I do is predetermined"; but I promise it is not. The acorn theory does not insinuate that everything "you" do is determined already by some divine, sometimes cruel and sometimes gentle presence in the sky. Instead of "God" deciding each and every one of our fates, the acorn inside of all of us is a guide, a soul, a helping hand along the way that pushes one into doing what it one is meant for. Fate becomes an extension of and directed by ones character or acorn. For instance, Hillman uses a number of famous and renowned figures in world history as examples of his theory, many of these exhibited signs of their fates at an early age. Former United States presidents Washington and Roosevelt, religious figures Gandhi, musicians, business men and women and more all become illustrations of the acorn theory in its many facets and possibilities. One such striking and particularly illustrative example is that of the renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin. "Before Yehudi was four he frequently heard the concertmaster (first violinist) Louis Persinger break into a solo passage as little Yehudi sat with his parents up in the gallery of the Curran theater. 'During one such performance I asked my parents if I might have a violin for my fourth birthday and Louis Persinger to teach me to play it.' His wish was granted, it seems, when he was given by a family friend a toy violin made of metal with metal strings. 'I burst into sobs, threw it on the ground and would have nothing more to do with it.' Because the genius is not bound by age, size, or by education or training, each child is too big for its britches and has eyes bigger than its stomach." -Hillman.
This child, who would later rise to fame as a concert violinist, would have nothing less than the real thing. The acorn was speaking strongly from the depths of this child's inner most longings. His daimon called out for a violin that would be dramatically too big for his four year old hands and abilities. Hillman provides countless examples throughout "The Soul's Code" of other such instances. During the course of reading this work I became frustrated with the idea that the acorn theory may simply be reserved for those who become extraordinary in some fashion during their time on earth. This would indeed be a fatal flaw in any overarching theory of a nuance of human nature, to leave out the majority of people. But being the comprehensive archetypal psychologist he is Hillman addresses this point with a chapter dedicated to 'mediocrity' and another dedicated to the 'bad seed' which is mainly illustrated by Adolf Hitler.
This book breaks down not only the acorn theory, but something that the author calls the "parental fallacy" and he provides a new third option to the nature and nurture debate and in turn insinuates that human nature may be far different from how we view it.
I recommend Hillman's book to anyone who was interested in Viktor Frankl's "Man's Search for Meaning", and those who are looking for a different spin on parenting and a new way to view their own life past, present and the potential future (s). This was certainly an enjoyable and insightful read that provides a great deal of food for thought.

No comments:

Post a Comment