First, notice they are both address the collective. Would you agree that more concepts should unify us, rather than tear us apart? It’s an intentional term unifying us, present, past and future. Isn’t that, by itself, amazing!?
Collective Consciousness
The collective consciousness addresses what brings us together in the present moment. This may be sharing something in common with a group simply based on which college we went to, which religious/spiritual institution we are a part of, what city we’re from, or which school district we’re from. It could also be which soccer team you support, job you work/ed for, whether you are a part of the art, science, spiritual worlds, or whether you’re all about that Wall Street kind of life…it binds you with other like-minded people. Some of these social circles are small and some large. Some social circles merge with other social circles for a shared reason.
For instance, we all live in this world, earth. We all share this same home. We are all earthly citizens. We share the best interest of preserving nature and world peace. Collaborating and striving for this will, in turn, grant us our own peace of mind. Despite the elites/people in power who cause wars, the majority of this world strives for the same cause: World Peace. Peace causes harmony in one’s life and the lives of the collective.
Often, the collective consciousness is the “gorilla glue” that holds society together. Now that we know the gist about this sociological concept, allow me to introduce its coiner: sociologist Emile Durkheim. We can thank Durkheim for bringing us together.
Now, how does this relate to quantum physics? I would say that the group of physicists that collaborated with each other on this topic has Durkheim to thank as well. Despite the several layers of social constructs/circles, physicists are still able to collaborate through networking within the science world despite their differences. After all, their love of science brings them together and I’m so glad it did!
Collective Unconsciousness
Collective unconsciousness was conceptualized by Carl G. Jung, the founding father of “analytical psychology” and the coiner of the term “synchronicity.” The concept refers to the human mind, soul, or spirit that has inherited information from our ancestors and is commonly shared among all human beings. For example, our instincts were handed down through the collective unconsciousness. Nobody told us that rabbits and horses are friendly animals and snakes aren’t. We have a natural affinity to want to cuddle with a cat, rather than a snake or scorpion. This is possible through transmuted instinctual experiences and deep-seated beliefs that were passed down through our ancestors that we share today. Speaking of which, our phobias may also be passed down through a genetic traits as well. See how it affects future generations?
Along with instincts, archetypes which are inherited signs, symbols, or patterns of thinking and behaving were also passed down. Next, we have also inherited complex beliefs such as concepts of right and wrong. It could probably explain why the Universal Declaration of Human Rights exists today. It is an international code of law by the United Nations to demonstrate what is the ethical way to treat a human being. Through shared archetype symbols the explanation of dreams are often very similar. For example, seeing clean snow in a dream or clear water may allude to a positive dream interpretations.
Imagine how far down the line we must trace our ancestral memories? In retrospect, our ancestral memories originated from Adam and Eve. We are indeed one human family that share similar if not identical ancestral memories. Thank you, Carl G. Jung for pointing out that we are one human family through your concept of the collective unconsciousness.
The way Jung’s concept of the collective unconsciousness relates to quantum physics is that it describes how the invisible aspects of our reality works. After all, quantum physics is the branch of science that measures the smallest form of energy and explains how the visible and invisible aspects of our reality works. Likewise, thank you Carl G. Jung, for unveiling the invisible aspects of our reality.