Meaningful Mutations: Reflections on the Synchronicity of Evolution
Ritske Rensma
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies July 1, 2016 DOI: 10.24972/ijts.2016.35.2.61 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Jung's late comments on evolution present clear evidence he did not think primarily along Darwinian lines, as has recently been claimed, but adopted what Wolfgang Pauli called a "third position" beyond Darwinism and Lamarckism, in which evolutionary changes are meaningful rather than random and synchronicity plays a role in shaping evolution. This places Jung closer to evolutionary thinkers influential in transpersonal psychology, most notably Ken Wilber, than to Neo-Darwinian evolutionary psychologists. |
Abstract
Although Jung made a connection between his concept of the archetype and mankind's evolutionary history throughout his career, he remained notoriously tight-lipped about his own specific views on evolutionary theory.In the final years of his life, however, he finally went more into detail about this important topic, putting forward a most thought-provoking idea: the notion that synchronicity, or meaning ful coincidences, had a role to play in the way evolution took shape.As I will argue in this paper, Jung's comments on this topic present clear evidence that he did not think primarily along Darwinian lines, as has recently been claimed; rather, I will argue that he adopted what Wolfgang Pauli referred to as a third position-one that goes beyond both Darwinism and Lamarckism.This third position is strongly informed by the notion that evolutionary changes are not random but meaningful, and that synchronicity has a role to play in the way evolution takes shape.This suggests that Jung is not so much a kindred spirit to Neo-Darwinian evolutionary psychologists, but a thinker who is much closer in his intuitions and affinities to several evolutionary thinkers who have been influential in the field of transpersonal psychology, most notably Ken Wilber.