archetype

The first thing to do in order to know the meaning of the term archetype is to discover its etymological origin. In this case, it must be stated that it comes from the Greek, specifically, it derives from the word "arjetipos" which is the result of the sum of two clearly differentiated parts such as these:
-The noun “arjé”, which can be translated as “origin”.
-The name "types", which is equivalent to "models".

A archetype is the first model of something. The concept, in this sense, can be linked to a prototype: the original mold in which an object is first produced.

The archetypes are patterns from which other elements or ideas derive. It can be something physical or symbolic, always capable of generating something more from themselves.

The archetype can also be considered as a example. From the archetype, behaviors and ways of thinking that are built by imitation or in search of similarity are molded.

For the philosophy, the archetypes are collectively shared thoughts that are universal. Individual thought, and its corresponding actions, arise based on these archetypes, which allow ordering and classifying the world.

In the field of biology, archetypes were used from the XIX century until the beginning of twentieth century as original and ideal types from which the rest of the species belonging to the same phylum derived.

The psychologist and psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung, for his part, appealed to the notion of archetype to explain the construction of the collective unconscious: the set of primitive symbols shared by people of all places and all times that express elements of the psyche that go beyond the field of reason.

The Jungian archetypeThus, it is made up of fantasies and dream representations that are linked to legends, myths and religious concepts and that shape the experiences of individuals. The figure of the hero, for example, is an archetype mentioned by Jung.

According to the proposals made by this illustrious figure, we find several kinds of archetypes, such as these:
-Anima, which becomes the archetype of the feminine in the mind of man.
-Animus, which is about the masculine aspect of the feminine personality.
-Father, he's an authority figure. In the same way, it is the one in charge of coming to give certain advice and information about how to carry out life.
-Mother, which is the archetype used to refer to ancestors, origins, motherhood ...
-Sabio, who is in charge of bringing light to the hero so that he can achieve his goals and continue on his way.
-The person, who becomes the archetype of the image that we project towards others and that, therefore, they have of us.

The trickster or the aforementioned hero are other archetypes found within the approach made by Carl Gustav Jung. Many of these are found in literary works, movies ... as would be the case, for example, of "The Matrix".