Actualization of the Shadow Archetype in a War Situation (From Philosophical Reflection to the Practice of Social Work)

A borderline situation, causing a person to realize the proximity of his death, actualizes the always potentially present threat of his own death. Currently, such a total borderline situation for the Ukrainian people is the war, the consequences of which are a huge number of personal and social problems that need to be solved. Awareness of their essence, in my opinion, is facilitated by a thorough acquaintance with the teaching of K. G. Jung about the archetypes of the collective unconscious. After all, the war situation into which Ukraine was plunged by the aggressive policy of the russian federation, being in its essence a destructive and dark force, is currently liberating, in other words, activating the archetype of the Shadow, the manifestations of which, on the one hand, deny the ontological perspectives of humanity in general, and on the other, cause spread of violent acts in the family, community, society, in particular. In view of the stated and outlined purpose of this study, which consists in elucidating the essence and manifestations of the archetype of the collective unconscious Shadow, the realization of which was caused by the border situation of the war. Achieving the set goal will contribute, on the one hand, to the expansion of the epistemological boundaries of consciousness, aimed, in particular, at elucidating the components of the unconscious, and on the other hand, to the application of psychoanalytical knowledge by social work specialists called to minimize the consequences of boundary situations for the individual/family in community (for example, it is about the implementation of measures to prevent violence in the family, etc.). During the study, the following important points were highlighted. First, the war caused the release of the dark forces of the self-personality of Ukrainians, the realization of which covers two opposite directions: 1) negative, carried out through projections as resistance to moral control (violence in the family); 2) positive due to the conscious use of dark aspects of the self (combat actions of Ukrainian soldiers). Secondly, the urgent problem of displacing the dark forces of the self-personality of Ukrainians actualized by the border situation of the war in conditions of peace is realized. Thirdly, the war, affecting the consciousness and self-awareness of Ukrainians, at the end predicts the possibility of a conscious return from Darkness to Light.