Dr Peter Ammann explores, by looking at early African stories, how early humans discovered and experienced consciousness.
Consciousness and its origins have become a significant topic of research, particularly in neuroscience. Its primary focus is on understanding what it means biologically. In contrast to these objective approaches, (Jungian) psychology must explore this topic also from a subjective point of view. How do early humans discover and experience consciousness? Jungian Analyst, Dr Peter Ammann, proposes to address the issue by having a closer look at a couple of early African stories.
In these stories reflection as well as mirroring are of crucial importance. Jung thought reflection to be of such great importance that he saw in it a specifically human instinct. The creative process in connection with reflecting and mirroring is a fundamental psychological process that must be closely connected with the evolution of human consciousness. Therefore, it is not surprising that we find it described in stories.