Patterns of Being: Archetypes in thought and tradition

’’Patterns of Being: Archetypes in thought and tradition”

The ’’Patterns of Being: Archetypes in thought and tradition” student conference is organized by the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Bucharest (through its Department for Theoretical Philosophy) in partnership with students from the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, department of Cognitive Science, BA program in Cognitive Science, aims to bring together students and researchers in philosophy of mind, psychology, evolutionary biology and cognitive science in order to reconceptualize archetypes .

The conference will take place 10-11 May, 2025, between 9 AM- 9 PM, local time for Bucharest, Romania. Regular presentations will be 20 minutes long, followed by 10 minutes long Q&A.

It will have a mixed format, in that speakers may choose whether they present online only or face to face at the event's location (if so, their session will enjoy a live audience, but it will also be streamed to remote participants).

Panels include:

1. How relevant is Jung’s conception of the archetypes in understanding cultural symbols, myths, and religious narratives today? 

2. How might eastern conceptions of recurring symbolic figures align or contrast with Jung’s theory of archetypes?

3. Are myths narrative vessels for transmitting archetypal contents across generations?

4. Does the interpretation of religious figures as archetypal patterns enrich or undermine theological understanding?

5. How does the integration of alchemical imagery from Jung’s work bridge and enhance knowledge from myths, religion and psychology?

6. To what extent can archetypes be integrated into contemporary cognitive science frameworks, such as cognitivism?

7. Can archetypes be seen as representational systems? What role does culture play in acquiring them?

8. Can archetypes be understood as neurobiologically grounded action patterns that shape our embodied experience in the world?

9. How might archetypes be understood within the 4E cognition framework, and what can this reveal about their emergence and function in human experience?