What question did this study set out to answer?

The central aim is to evaluate how Jung's archetypes and collective unconscious relate to cultural sociology and modernity.

March 19, 2026Open Access

Archetypes and the Iconic Unconscious: Jung, Benjamin, Adorno and the “strong program” in Cultural Sociology

Key Points

The central aim is to evaluate how Jung's archetypes and collective unconscious relate to cultural sociology and modernity.
Analyzed concepts from C. G. Jung, Walter Benjamin, and Theodor W. Adorno.
Compared depth psychology with critiques of modernity.
Discussed the relevance of a 'strong program' in cultural sociology.
Argued that Jung’s concepts offer insight into the dynamics of capitalist modernity.
Identified the potential for integrating emotional and material aspects of social experience.
Reinterpreted iconic consciousness through the lens of Benjamin's ideas on the unconscious.

Abstract

This article explores the heuristic potential of C. G. Jung’s concepts of archetype and collective unconscious within the sociology of the imaginary, connecting them to the debate between Walter Benjamin and Theodor W. Adorno on the Arcades Project. Through a comparison between Jung’s depth psychology, Benjamin’s critique of modernity, and Adorno’s theory of culture, the study shows how the archaic imaginary may serve as an interpretative key to the symbolic and mythical dynamics of capitalist modernity. The article also discusses the contemporary relevance of these concepts in relation to the “strong program” in cultural sociology and the iconic turn, arguing that Jeffrey Alexander’s notion of iconic consciousness can be reinterpreted through Benjamin’s idea of an iconic unconscious. The aim is to outline the foundations of a sociology of the imaginary able to integrate the symbolic, emotional, and material dimensions of social experience.

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