Thursday, February 28, 2019

Psyche, Individual, Universal

The early chapters of Human, All Too Human seem to suggest a replacement of Metaphysics by Psychology as the study of the Noumenal dimension of human experience.  However, it is, more precisely, a naturalization of the concept of Psyche = Soul = animating principle that has traditionally been conceived to be supernatural in some respect, e. g. incorporeal.  Now, while that traditional concept has been predominantly conceived to be Individual, in some cases it is conceived to be Universal, i. e. one Soul for all Bodies.  So, Schopenhauer's Will to Live, and Nietzsche's Dionysian, can be recognized as continuing the latter variety.  Furthermore, Nietzsche affirms his allegiance to the Dionysian principle to the very end of his career.  Hence, despite his reputation as an 'individualist', his concept of Psychology entails that of a Universal Psyche, that, by The Gay Science, is specified as the Psyche of the Species, as has been previously discussed.  Accordingly, to whatever extent Freudian Psychology is influenced by Nietzschean Psychology, the concept of Psyche that it entails, e. g. the personalized Libido, is Individual, and, so, diverges from the latter in that respect.  In contrast, the Collective Unconscious of Jungian Psychology is closer to the Nietzschean Species Psyche.

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