Unus mundus

lung’s research into ALCHEMY and the evolution of
concepts such as PSYCHIC REALITY, the PSYCHOID UNCONSCIOUS and
SYNCHRONICITY, led him to bring in the pre-Newtonian idea of the
unus mundus or unitary world. This concept, or IMAGE, is used by
lung to suggest that each stratum of existence is intimately linked
with all the other strata, rather than that there is a transcendent or
supraordinate plan for the coordination of separate parts. For example,
BODY and PSYCHE are interrelated, and psyche and matter
may also be related as well.
In using the unus mundus as a working concept for psychological
discourse, an analogy was drawn between the operation of the UNCONSCIOUS
and what is known of sub-atomic particle physics. In
both we observe rapid interaction and interchange of the entities
involved; and in both there are patterns and probabilities to be found.
For example, what relativity theory tells us about the fluidity and
‘symbolic’ nature of the physical world may be compared with the
similar characteristics of intrapsychic activity. When the sub-atomic
physicist accepts that something can be simultaneously particle and
wave, he is required to take a more or less psychological attitude to
his work (see SYMBOL). Physicists search for an underlying force in
nature, perhaps one which would unify electromagnetism, nuclear
forces and gravity. Similarly, the non-Einsteinian notion of ‘actionat-
a-distance’, in which two distinct sub-atomic particles behave harmoniously,
as though each ‘knew’ what the other is doing, may be
compared to the theory of archetypes and/or the operation of the
transpersonal SELF (see ARCHETYPE).
The unus mundus is a world view which is essentially at odds with
causal explanation. The focus is on relations existing between
‘things’ rather than on the ‘things’ themselves, and, further, on the
relations between relations. It is necessary to remember that the un usmundus is not a device but the background of attempts to discern
MEANING (see REDUCTIVE AND SYNTHETIC METHODS; TELEOLOGICAL
POINT OF VIEW). Discernment requires EGO involvement and personal
authority. Dependence on codices, such as the I Ching or astrological
charts, must, according to lung, be strictly monitored. Nevertheless,
the vision of a unitary world, perhaps of a world permeated by a
divine intelligence, is, to a degree, a transcendent one. Nowadays
there is talk of the ‘mysticism of physics’ and of an ‘implicate order’
underlying the fragmentation apperceived by ordinary CONSCIOUSNESS
(cf. Capra, 1975; Bateson, 1979; Bohm, 1980).
Not all analytical psychologists accept lung’s view of the unus
mundus. What is lost is the vitality of the pluralistic psyche, which
tends to find expression in ‘sparks’ or fragments. Search for a groundplan
cuts us off from what may be gained from a full emotional and
imaginative investment in, and exploration of such fragments (Hillman,
1971). lung’s use of unus mundus as a defence against his own
intense anxiety has also been suggested (Atwood and Stolorow, 1979).