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Technology and Soul: Living at the Turning Point
April 8, 2011 @ 7:30 pm - 9:30 pm PDT
Technology brings many gifts, but the constant innovation and change have a psychological cost. We can become disoriented or distracted and lose sight of the inner compass. Finding our direction in these liquid times is a challenge—a challenge that’s only going to deepen . . .
Until recently, our gadgets have remained largely external and have not directly altered our basic nature. Today, however, we stand on the threshold of reengineering our essential being. For large numbers of people cyberspace has already begun to replace everyday life. Devices designed to further the adaptation of mind and body to the computer world are already in the works. Chip implants beneath our skin will soon be commonplace. Around these innovations lies a sea of developments in psychotropic medication, genetic engineering, plastic surgery and robotics, all aiming to transform the very fabric of our existence.
The impact these changes will make on the psyche is an unexplored question. Uncovering the shadow side of this ultimate makeover seems critical, but simply turning back may not be an option. How then are we to respond?
Jung was leery of technology. He once said, “civilized man . . . is in danger of losing all contact with the world of instinct,” adding that this loss “is largely responsible for the pathological condition of contemporary culture.” In this lecture Jung’s understanding of instinctual life and psychological wellbeing will be discussed in light of impending technologies. We’ll try to find our psychological feet in the face of this tinkering with Nature.
Related Workshop: Technology and Soul: Living at the Turning Point - Workshop
GLEN SLATER, PH.D., was born and raised in Australia. He moved to the United States in 1992 to study Jungian psychology. He has degrees in Religious Studies and Clinical Psychology and has taught for over 25 years at Pacifica Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara, California, where he is Co-Chair of the Jungian and Archetypal Studies Program. He has written extensively for Jungian publications and edited the third volume of James Hillman’s Uniform Edition, Senex and Puer, as well as the essay collection, Varieties of Mythic Experience. He writes on Jung and film, the psychology of religion, and depth psychology and technology. His long-awaited book, Jung vs. Borg: Finding the Deeply Human in a Posthuman Age, will be published in January 2024.