[coquina]

I would say that one of the traits of collective conscious is the desire to form groups. It is probably an ancestral "safety in numbers" thing. However, people have discovered that when you have a group, it has to have a leader.

How people select their leader is downright screwy. Again, it must be more than what the leader says, leaders must have something that goes right down to the primal collective conscious that allows people to be led by a "strong" individual.

I think the prime example of this is Hitler. How in the world did he convince the german population the "Aryan" characteristics - tall, blonde, and blue eyes were superior to people who were short, dark haired and brown eyed, especially given that he was one of the latter?

[john5746]

Quote

it is a bit creepy if you think of it like that.
but by pure reason,
if there is a collective conscious.
and everyone with a conscious also has a subconscious.
and the subconscious interacts with and reflects the conscious.
then there must be a collective subconscious.
connected and updated by the very normal means of history and language and art and films and TV and the internet.
a good example of this, a few months back an African king released all his slaves, his reason" I felt that the breeze of democracy was blowing through the world"

The collective conscious I think is due to our human instincts. We have repressed many of them, but they do affect our behaviour. Forming groups, selecting leaders, selecting sexual partners, curiosity, etc. This doesn't mean we are "connected" in some way anymore than dogs humping legs on different continents are connected.

[Kelton]

The definition of subconscious (and conscious) are subject to a variety of interpretations. This alone makes the use of the term somewhat questionable as one forms other theories based upon such a foggy term. It may be altogether unnecessary. To say that our "subconscious directs our behavior" seems to make sense, but it's a bit too convenient and doesn't really explain the behavior.

This forum is called "Science Forums and Debate".....so, I'm being 'debate-ee'!

[Hellbender]

Good point. As a matter of convenience I feel it is certainly easier to pigeonhole a plethora or behaviors and actions into one personified entity. This, and the fact that religion is a potent form of social control is what make belief in the supernatural so ubiquitous in human societies.