{"id":21963,"date":"2023-08-22T17:43:51","date_gmt":"2023-08-22T15:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cgjung.net\/espace\/?page_id=21963"},"modified":"2025-09-21T13:20:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T11:20:59","slug":"shadow-in-star-trek","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.cgjung.net\/espace\/jps\/articles\/peggy-vermeesch\/shadow-in-star-trek\/","title":{"rendered":"Star Trek\u2019s Borg: symbol of the collective unconscious in its devouring and annihilating shadow aspect (1\/3)"},"content":{"rendered":"

In light of Jungian analyst Erich Neumann’s approach we explore the collective unconscious in its <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>devouring and destructive shadow <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong>aspect, as illustrated by the Borg in Star Trek.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Borg<\/em> are a cybernetic pseudo-species that actively strips each alien society they encounter from their individuality in order to make them part of the Borg Collective<\/em>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Video presentation in English<\/a> | Text in French<\/a><\/p>\n

This article is based on Jungian analyst Erich Neumann’s book Depth psychology and a New Ethic<\/a> (1949)<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Erich Neumann<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Erich Neumann was a German psychologist and prominent student of Carl Jung who fled to Tel Aviv in 1934 out of fear of persecution of the Jews. His later theories about the Old Ethic<\/em> and New Ethic<\/em> were written in an attempt to make sense of the atrocities that happened in WW2 and to propose a better way forward. He writes:<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut in every case it [the old ethic] involves an assertion of the absolute character of certain values which are represented by this old ethic as moral \u201coughts\u201d.\u201d (p. 33)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In any culture certain values and ideals emerge as absolute values: one hundred percent good and thus ethical. The reasons for a particular choice of values might be consciously thought out or arise out of unconscious fears, defenses or desires. They are often historical in origin and sometimes no longer valid. Occasionally they are completely arbitrary and the result of chance events. Other ideals have only ever been useful for the people who promoted them.<\/p>\n

Individuality as highest value<\/strong><\/p>\n

In our modern western era one of our most important values is our individuality and the idea that each of us is unique and important in our own right. We should therefore have equal rights and opportunities, including the freedom to choose our own unique path to a fulfilling life.<\/p>\n

One of the greatest TV-shows and spin-offs ever conceived in terms of creatively portraying Jungian and other depth psychological concepts is Star Trek. Set in the future with the capability of faster-than-light space travel, the different series (1966-2023) explore and amplify dynamics of both personal relationships and whole civilizations with unlimited creative potential for exotic humanoid physiology, psychology and societal structures.<\/p>\n

In the Star Trek universe the<\/em> United Federation of Planets<\/em> is an interstellar union of multiple planets under a single central government, founded on the principles of liberty, equality, peace, justice, and progress. In the Federation, which includes Earth, these values extend to intelligent life of all sorts: alien species and even artificial intelligence in the form of holograms, androids and synthetics. Many episodes are dedicated to exploring the issue of equal rights in all its different facets.<\/p>\n

So how can we create a society according to the values that we have chosen? Neumann writes:<\/p>\n

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\u201cIt is always held that the ideal of perfection can and ought to be realized by the elimination of those qualities which are incompatible with this perfection. The \u201cdenial of the negative\u201d, its forcible and systematic exclusion, is a basic feature of this ethic.\u201d (p. 33)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Suppression and repression<\/strong><\/p>\n

He further states that there are two possible mechanisms to eliminate that which conflicts with our values in order to \u201cachieve adaptation to the ethical ideal\u201d<\/em>. The two methods are suppression<\/em> and repression<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In suppressing<\/em> certain parts of ourselves, we make a deliberate decision not to allow those parts to be expressed or fulfilled. Our sacrifice is conscious and through our suffering we retain a conscious connection with those rejected parts. We remember that these parts belong to us.<\/p>\n

When we repress<\/em> those incompatible parts, we completely forget that they were ever part of us. We lose contact with them completely. They are no longer under our conscious ego-control and lead a life of their own in our unconscious.<\/p>\n

Shadow and persona<\/strong><\/p>\n

Neumann continues:<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe natural result of this attempt is the formation of two systems in the personality, one of which usually remains completely unconscious, while the other develops into an essential organ of the psyche with the active support of the ego and the conscious mind.\u201d (p. 37)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

These two systems are:<\/p>\n