Dream Analysis in Archetypal Psychology: The tension between experience and image in James Hillman work

Join us for this fascinating Open Seminar with João L. Corá

Archetypal Psychology is a “critical” development of classical Jungian thought. Among the twists and reflections proposed by James Hillman, will be highlighted here the the replacement of a “metaphysical” perspective on Dreams, by a phenomenological perspective that will seek to “stay” with the Dream image from itself, the golden rule fo Archetypal Psychology “stick to the image”. On the one hand, in opposition to a symbolic approach to dreams, Hillman opposes any attempt to amplify and/or interpret dream images, at the risk of “killing the image” by imposing over it an “personal” interpretation. On the other hand, an epistemological assessment of his work reveals a tension in the background of its theoretical scope between sticking phenomenologically to experience and the leap to images, between the appearance of dream content and its “essence”. Despite an archetypal approach to dreams will assume that the dream image itself is a direct expression of the psyche, in order to “see through” the images, it becomes necessary to amplify the content of the dream through imagination and fantasy, transcending immediate experience. Such tension between experience and image seems to be the basis of his psychotherapeutic theory and practice.

The Speaker

João L. Corá S. is a Clinical Psychologist graduated from the Pontifical Catholic University - Brazil (2018), specialist in Analytical Psychology from PUC (2020), Master in Philosophy from PUC (2021), Master in Clinical Psychology from the Federal University of Paraná - Brazil (2021), currently pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology also at UFPR (2023), developing a research on the philosophical bases of James Hillman's thought. Author of the book “The Dionysian love of life: between Jung and Nietzsche”, published in 2023 by CRV, with articles published about the relationship between Jungian and Post-Jungian Psychology with German Philosophy and Phenomenology.