The father archetype and orthodoxy
Routledge eBooks October 9, 2018 DOI: 10.4324/9780429449093-6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that the father archetype is the primary source of religious feeling and the seedbed of mystical experience, but that it also pulls toward established religious authority, channeling nascent religious feeling into orthodox doctrine. Proposes that an absent or weak father intensifies the father complex, and that longing for the unavailable father drives a search for external or internal authority, which may seek substitutes outside organized religion when orthodoxy is rejected. |
Abstract
The father archetype that underlies a father complex is the primum movens of religious feeling: it is the "creative wind-breath – the spirit, pneuma, atman" and thus contains the seeds of all mystical experiences (ME). Although the father archetype is an underlying ground for a ME, it cleaves towards the authority of established religion so that the nascent religious feelings it engenders are diverted to orthodox doctrine. The predicament of an inevitable father complex that is difficult to overcome is immensely complicated where there is an absent father or a father whom the child discounts as weak and ineffectual. It is the longing and the unavailability of the father that engender a search for some external or internal authority that holds the principles needed for a relationship with society and God. If the external orthodoxy is rejected, the longing continues and may seek a substitute outside the organised, doctrinal structure.