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Submission Number: 32
Submission ID: 777
Submission UUID: d01a8bd8-78af-4f38-9da5-80c383e0331a
Submission URI: /2025/abstracts
Created: Thu, 04/10/2025 - 05:06
Completed: Thu, 04/10/2025 - 09:24
Changed: Sun, 04/27/2025 - 08:28
Remote IP address: 196.254.105.49
Submitted by: Anonymous
Language: English
Is draft: No
Current page: Complete
Webform: Abstract
Presenters
Dr.
Van wyk
Carel
University of the free state
Dr Carel van Wyk is a social work educator and registered professional (SACSSP, HPCSA) with a PhD in Social Work and an Honours in Psychology. His experience includes twelve years at a Child Guidance Clinic, specialising in therapeutic services for children. Since 2006, he has lectured at the University of the Free State, teaching various social work courses and supervising postgraduate research. As Programme Director for the Department of Social Work, his scholarly activities include conference presentations, publications, and senior editor for The Qualitative Report. His research interests encompass exploring phenomena from a classical Jungian perspective and applying descriptive phenomenology.
No
Abstract
An Archetypal Absence: Jungian Reflections on Psychosocial-Spiritual Disconnection from the Natural World
THEME 1: Green Social Work and Climate Resilience: Supporting Vulnerable Communities in the Face of Environmental Crises
SUB 1.3 How social workers support resilience, adaptation, and recovery in affected communities.
Oral Presentation
This paper explores C. G. Jung's perspectives on the relationship between humanity and nature. Jung expressed concern over the increasing disconnection from the natural world, viewing it as detrimental to the human psyche. He believed that direct engagement with nature held a vital cleansing and restorative power, suggesting that, in its excess, civilisation could lead to spiritual and psychological contamination. Jung considered the Earth to possess its soul or spirit, a concept aligning with ancient beliefs in a living and ensouled world. He used the terms soul, psyche, and spirit interchangeably, even equating the psyche with Nature itself, sometimes capitalising "Nature" to convey a sense of its inherent sacredness. For Jung, nature was not merely matter but a spiritual dimension, contrasting this rich, meaningful image of the "Great Mother" with the dry, intellectual concept of "matter." The paper highlights Jung's assertion that the loss of connection with nature is fundamentally a religious problem, indicating a severance from a deep-seated aspect of human experience and spirituality. He advocated for a harmonious existence with nature, drawing attention to the wisdom inherent in the animal world. Jung suggested that understanding and integrating the "animal within" could lead to a more grounded, reasonable, and law-abiding existence, fostering a reconnection with one's inherent nature and a primal sense of the divine. He considered a deep, intuitive connection with animals a profound and truthful experience, often misunderstood or dismissed in modern society. This exploration of Jung's ideas resonates with the theme of the Green Social Work and Climate Resilience conference. By examining the psychological and spiritual resources lost through this disconnection, the paper aligns with sub-theme 1.3. Jung’s insights offer a valuable framework for understanding the deeper psychological and spiritual dimensions of our relationship with the natural world.
Sabini, M. (ed.). 2002. The earth has a soul: The nature writings of C. G. Jung. Berkley: North Atlantic Books.
Sabini, M. (ed.). 2002. The earth has a soul: The nature writings of C. G. Jung. Berkley: North Atlantic Books.
Reviewer ONE Feedback
Dr
Thabisa
Matsea
Yes
Practice
Accepted
Reviewer TWO Feedback
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{Empty}
{Empty}
Yes
Practice
Accepted