FWIW, Jung usually didn't suggest that specific myths or memories were hardwired. Rather, he said that there were certain universal patterns in our lives — motherhood, old age, death, getting burned by fire, getting warmed by fire — that are so ancient and so prevalent in human experience that our minds have evolved to synch with, understand, and create symbols that communicate those patterns.
For example, genetics doesn't hardwire us to revere Gaia or Lakshmi, but mother goddess figures are a byproduct of collective psychology, because it's a slight evolutionary advantage to listen to Mom and treat mothers well enough that they reproduce.
So the "lizard brain" concept is basically what he's talking about, except that he's arguing that it may include some adaptations favorable to patterns of human life and community, not just animal-survival information like "that's poisonous" or "use Milky Way as compass when sun is down" (which I'm delighted to learn is hardwired into Egyptian dung beetles).
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Date: 2013-02-17 09:50 pm (UTC)For example, genetics doesn't hardwire us to revere Gaia or Lakshmi, but mother goddess figures are a byproduct of collective psychology, because it's a slight evolutionary advantage to listen to Mom and treat mothers well enough that they reproduce.
So the "lizard brain" concept is basically what he's talking about, except that he's arguing that it may include some adaptations favorable to patterns of human life and community, not just animal-survival information like "that's poisonous" or "use Milky Way as compass when sun is down" (which I'm delighted to learn is hardwired into Egyptian dung beetles).